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BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF  THIS  YOLUME. 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR  OF   1812— '15,  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. 

"  It  is  the  best  condensed  account  of  that  war  of  which  I  have  knowledge 
— a  compact  volume,  easy  of  reference,  wonderfully  accurate  in  dates  and 
numbers,  grouping  the  events  of  the  war  of  1812  so  as  to  form  a  strong  link 
in  the  chain  that  binds  the  United  States  together  in  everlasting  union. 
Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie  and  Harrison's  at  the  Thames  gave  us  possession 
of  the  great  Northwest,  a  result  mighty  in  its  consequences.  — Gen.  William 
T.  Sherman. 

<l  It  is  history  written  like  a  novel.  From  the  causes  of  the  war  and  the 
beginning  to  the  end,  the  interest  is  sustained  as  it  were  in  the  development  of 
a  plot." — Indianapolis  News. 

"  The  style  is  clear,  the  work  honest,  the  sentences  concise,  and  the  spirit 
dispassionate  and  admirable,  though  thoroughly  American." — Philadelphia 
Times. 

"  While  it  shows  in  every  chapter  the  strict  accuracy  of  the  most  exhaus 
tive  history,  it  yet  presents  the  story  of  the  war  in  such  attractive  shape  as  to 
seem  quite  like  a  romance." — Milwaukee  Wisconsin. 

"  It  is  by  an  author  whose  language  is  free  from  all  superfluity,  and  who 
presents  dry  fact  in  such  a  form  that  it  becomes  as  interesting  as  fiction." — 
Detroit  Commercial  A  dvertiser. 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  FRENCH  WAR  ending  in  the 
Conquest  of  Canada,  with  a  preliminary  account  of  the  early 
attempts  at  colonization  and  struggles  for  the  possession  of 
the  Continent. 

"  The  story  of  these  colonial  wars  was  well  worth  telling,  and  Mr.  John 
son  has  told  it  clearly  and  unpretentiously.  His  book  contains  all  that  any  one 
not  a  specialist  in  the  subject  will  care  to  know." — Good  Literature. 

"  It  is  not  only  highly  valuable  as  a  historical  contribution,  but  many  of 
its  scenes  are  as  interesting  as  any  romance," — Lutheran  Observer. 

"  A  very  serviceable  book  for  those  who  wish  for  a  short,  connected 
account  of  the  relations  between  the  French  and  English  colonies." — The 
Nation. 

"  The  story  is  told  in  the  entertaining  and  truthful  style  which  has  made 
for  him  an  enviable  reputation.'' — Columbus  Despatch. 

"  The  incidents  of  the  period  referred  to  are  found  in  no  other  single 
volume,  nor  in  so  concise  and  satisfactory  a  form." — Ohio  State  Journal. 

"  A  succinct  and  graphic  history  of  the  bloody  contests  between  the  Eng 
lish  and  the  French  for  the  possession  of  American  territory." — Chicago 
Interior. 


A   SHORT   HISTORY 


OF  THE 


WAR   OF   SECESSION 


1861  —  1865 


BY 


ROSSITER   JOHNSON 

AUTHOR   OF   "  A    HISTORY    OF   THE    FRENCH    WAR    ENDING    IN   THE 

CONQUEST   OF   CANADA,"    AND    "  A    HISTORY   OF   THE 

WAR   OF    1812-15    BETWEEN    THE    UNITED 

STATES   AND   GREAT    BRITAIN." 


BOSTON   AND   NEW    YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND    COMPANY 


1889 


COPYRIGHT,  1888, 

BY 
TICKNOR  &  COMPANY. 


All  rights  reserved. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 

CURRENT  literature  abounds  in  minute  studies  of 
the  separate  campaigns  and  engagements  of  the 
great  civil  war,  most  of  them  purely  military,  and 
many  of  them  exceedingly  valuable ;  but  the 
reader  finds  no  ready  answer  to  his  question,  How 
did  it  happen  that  the  war  took  place  at  all,  what 
was  its  general  course,  and  what  were  the  motive 
forces  that  brought  it  on,  prolonged  it,  and 
finished  it  ?  There  seemed  to  be  wanting  a  his 
tory  neither  so  extended  as  to  bewilder  the  reader 
with  multiplicity  of  details,  nor  so  concise  as  to 
preclude  all  color.  To  meet  this  demand  with  a 
single  compact  volume  is  the  purpose  of  the  pres 
ent  effort ;  and,  though  many  interesting  partic 
ulars  are  necessarily  omitted,  it  is  hoped  that  the 
book  presents  a  fair  idea  of  the  great  conflict 
that  so  nearly  wrecked  the  Republic.  Scarcely 
another  war  in  history  has  had  a  theatre  so 
extended,  few  have  called  out  so  large  armies, 
and  none  have  sprung  from  a  more  popular  cause. 
There  were  two  thousand  four  hundred  engage 
ments  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  officially 
named,  and  many  that  were  costlier  of  life,  and 


iV  PREFACE. 

limb  than  some  of  the  famous  battles  of  the 
Revolution  cannot  even  find  mention  in  a  volume 
like  this.  Writers  intent  upon  military  details 
almost  ignore  the  causes  of  the  war,  the  spirit  in 
which  it  was  conducted,  the  complications  that 
actually  arose  or  were  avoided  by  skilful  diplo 
macy,  and  the  significance  of  the  results.  I  have 
therefore  treated  these  subjects  in  somewhat 
larger  proportion  than  the  battles  and  sieges.  As 
the  book  is  intended  for  easy  reading,  and  not  for 
hard  study,  I  have  avoided  tripping  up  the  reader 
on  every  page  with  foot-notes  and  references.  In 
a  few  cases  it  seemed  desirable  to  cite  an  author 
ity  ;  but  generally  the  sources  of  information  are 
such  that  a  reader  wishing  to  pursue  the  subject 
more  minutely,  can  readily  find  them. 

For  some  of  the  important  campaigns  and 
actions,  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  undisputed 
figures  as  to  the  numbers  engaged  and  the  losses 
on  either  side.  After  the  second  year  of  the  war, 
the  Confederate  commanders  appear  to  have  with 
held  all  reports  of  their  losses  ;  and  these  items 
have  been  sedulously  written  up  or  written  down, 
in  accordance  with  personal  interest  or  prejudice, 
though  the  mournful  statistics  have  little  to  do 
with  the  philosophy  of  the  struggle.  In  each 
instance  I  have  given  the  figures  that  seem  to  be 
most  authoritative.  R.  J. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

THE  CAUSES -       -       -       .       .       j 

Introduction  of  Slaves,  I. — Growth  and  Protection  of  the  Slave 
Trade,  2. — Invention  of  the  Cotton-Gin,  3. — The  First  Fugi 
tive-Slave  Law^  4. — Liberty  Laws,  4. — Vesey's  Insurrection, 
4. — Turner's  Insurrection,  5. — Garrison's  Liberator)**  6. — 
Murder  of  Lovejoy,  6. — The  Anti-Slavery  Society's  Publica 
tions,  7. — Extracts  from  the  Slave  Laws,  8. — Helper's  Book, 
9. — Replies  of  Southerners,  10. — Garbling  the  Census,  12. — 
The  Underground  Railroad,  13.  —  The  Constitutional 
Dilemma,  14. — Attack  on  Sumner,  15. — The  Missouri  Com 
promise,  1 6. — Nullification,  17. — Texas  and  Oregon,  17. — 
The  Compromises  of  1850,  18. — The  Dred-Scott  Decision, 
19. — The  Political  Division,  21. — The  Struggle  in  Kansas, 
22. — The  Golden  Circle,  24. — The  Secession  Crisis,  25. 

CHAPTER  II. 
THE  OUTBREAK 26 

Reliance  of  the  South,  26. — Encouragement  from  the  North, 
27. — The  Fallacy  of  Secession,  29. — State  Allegiance,  31. — 
The  Tendency  to  Centralization,  32. — The  Question  of  Justi 
fication,  33. — The  Presidential  Election  of  1860,  35. — Seces 
sion  of  the  Cotton  States,  35. — Formation  of  the  Confed 
eracy,  36. — Bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  40. 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  BLOODSHED  r  -----  41 
Lincoln's  Inaugural  Address,  41. — Union  Sentiment  at  the 
South,  43. — The  Struggle  for  Virginia,  43.— The  Vigintal 
Crop,  44. — Dragooned  into  Secession,  46. — Gov.  Letcher's 
Treachery,  46.— Farragut's  Patriotism,  46. — Secession  of 
Arkansas  and  North  Carolina,  46. — The  First  Call  for 
Troops,  47. — The  Uprising  at  the  North,  48. — Map  Showing 
the  Area  of  the  Confederacy,  49. — Action  of  Prominent  Men, 
51. — Mob  in  Baltimore,  52. — The  First  Bloodshed,  53. — A 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Week  of  Disasters,  54. — Occupation  of  Arlington  Heights, 
55.— Death  of  Ellsworth,  Winthrop,  and  Greble,  56. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  FIRST  BATTLE  OF  BULL  RUN  -  '•-.  .  -  -  -  -57 
More  Troops  Called  for,  57. — Blockade  of  Southern  Ports.57. 
— Action  of  Congress,  57. — Confederate  Government  Re 
moved  to  Richmond,  58. — The  Cry  of  On  to  Richmond,  58. 
— Concentration  at  Bull  Run,  59. — Spies  in  Washington,  60. 
— McDowell's  Army  in  Motion,  60. — Battle  of  Blackburn's 
Ford,  62. — Johnston  Joins  Beauregard,  63. — Battle  of  Bull 
Run,  64. — Effect  in  Europe,  69. — Effect  North  and  South,  70. 

CHAPTER  V. 

BORDER  STATES  AND  FOREIGN  RELATIONS  -  -  -  -  71 
Answers  of  the  Governors,  71. — The  Struggle  for  Missouri, 
72. — The  Capture  of  Camp  Jackson,  74. — Exertions  of  Fran 
cis  P.  Blair,  Jr.,  74. — Lyon  in  Command,  75. — Proclamation 
of  Gov.  Jackson,  76. — Action  at  Booneville,  76. — Action  at 
Carthage,  77. — Rise  of  Gen.  Sigel,  77. — Death  of  Gen.  Lyon, 
78. — The  Struggle  for  Kentucky,  78. — The  Struggle  for 
Maryland,  80. — Secession  of  North  Carolina,  82. — The 
Struggle  for  Tennessee,  83. — Actions  in  Western  Virginia, 
84. — Formation  of  West  Virginia,  85. — Capture  of  Mason 
and  Slidell,  85.— Hostility  in  England,  87.— Attitude  of 
Louis  Napoleon,  88. — Friendship  of  Russia,  89. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  FIRST  UNION  VICTORIES  -  -  -  -  .  -  -  90 
Confederate  Blockade-Runners  Built  in  England,  90. — The 
Hatteras  Expedition,  92. — The  Port  Royal  Expedition,  94. — 
Capture  of  Hilton  Head,  96. — Battle  of  Paintville,  97. — Battle 
of  Mill  Springs,  98. — Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  99. — River 
Gunboats,  100. — Capture  of  Fort  Henry,  101. — Battle  of  Fort 
Donelson,  103. — Siege  of  Lexington,  106. — Affairs  in  Arkan 
sas,  107. — Battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  108. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS     -       -       -       -       -       -       -in 

Plans  for  Bombardment,  113. — The  Fleet  and  the  Commander, 

.      115.— The  Sailing-Orders,  116.— The  Bombardment,  117.— 

Farragut's  Orders,  118. — The  Battle  with  the  Forts,  119. — 

The  Battle  with  the  Fleet,  121. —Destruction  of  Confederate 

Vessels,  122. — Surrender  of  the  City,  123. 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  MONITOR  AND  THE  MERRIMAC        -       -       -       -       -  127 
The  Burned  Merrimac  Raised  and  Repaired,  127. — Sinking  of 
the  Cumberland,  129. — The  Monitor,  130. — Destruction  of 
both  Iron-clads,  131. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  SHILOH 132 

Siege  of  New  Madrid,  133. — Bombardment  of  Island  Number 
Ten,  134.— Pope's  Captures,  135.— Battle  of  Shiloh,  135.— 
Fall  of  Gen.  Johnston,. ,139. — The  Final  Victory,  142. — The 
Turning-point  of  the  War,  144. 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  PENINSULA  CAMPAIGNERS*  ~/J46 

Command  Given  to  McClellan,  147. — His  Plans,  148. — Appoint-^ 
ment  of  Secretary  Stanton,  150. — On  the  Peninsula,- 152. — 
Battle  of  Williamsburg,  152.— On  the  Chickahominy,.i55. — 
The  Battle  of  FairOaks.  1 56.— Erfecfof  the  SwampSy'isS.— 
Lee  in  "CoTnrnartB"  1 58. — Stuart's  Raid,  1 59. — Nearest 
Approach  to  Richmond,  162. — Action  at  Beaver  Dam 
Creek,  163.— Battle  of  Gaines's  Mills,  164.— Battle  of 
Savage's  Station,  166. — Battle  of  Charles  City  Cross-Roads, 
167.— Battle  of  Malvern  Hill,  169. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

POPE'S  CAMPAIGN     *•  f    -    .    -  -  173 

Formation  of  the  Army  of  Virginia,  173. — Halleck  made 
General-in-Chief,  174. — McClellan  Leaves  the  Peninsula,  175. 
— Battle  of  Cedar  Mountain,  176. — Pope  and  Lee  Manoeuvre, 
177. — Battle  of  Groveton,  179. — The  Second  Bull  Run,  182. 
Battle  of  Chantilly,  183.— The  Porter  Dispute,  184. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  ANTIETAM  CAMPAIGN  -  183 

Confederate  Advance  into  Maryland,  185. — The  Army  of  the 
Potomac  sent  against  them,  187. — Lee's  Plans  Learned  from 
a  Lost  Despatch,  188. — Capture  of  Harper's  Ferry,  189. — 
Battle  of  South  Mountain,  189. — Battle  of  Antietam,  192. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
EMANCIPATION         -       -/-...       .       .       .-  200 

Lincoln's  Attitude  toward  Slavery,  201. — McClellan's  Atti- 
tude,203. — The  Democratic  Party's  Attitude,  204. — Predic- 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

tions  by  the  Poets,  206.— Slaves  Declared  Contraband,  206. 
— Action  of  Fremont,  208. — Hunter's  Proclamation,  209. — 
Blacks  First  Enlisted,  210. — Division  of  Sentiment  in  the 
Army,  211. — Maryland  Abolishes  Slavery,  212. — The  Presi 
dent  and  Horace  Greeley  Correspond  on  the  Subject,  212. — 
Emancipation  Proclaimed,  214. — Autumn  Elections,  216. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

BURNSIDE'S  CAMPAIGN    -       -      --       -       -       .       -       -21$ 

McClellan's  Inaction,  219. — Visit  and  Letters  of  Lincoln  to 
Him,  219. — Superseded  by  Burnside,  221. — The  Position  at 
Fredericksburg,  223. — Attack  upon  the  Heights,  227. — The 
Result,  229. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

ROSECRANS  AND  HOOKER  230 

Battle  of  Perryville,  231. — Battles  of  luka  and  Corinth,  233. — 
Battle  of  Stone  River,  235. — Enlistment  of  Negroes,  238. — 
The  Black  Flag,  239. — Black  Men  in  Former  Wars,  240. — 
Letter  of  the  President  to  Hooker,  241. — Burnside  Super 
seded  by  Hooker,  241. — Battle  of  Chancellorsville,  243. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

GETTYSBURG     -       -       -       -       -       -       --       -       -248 

Invasion  of  the  North  Determined  on,  248. — Cavalry  Skirmish 
at  Fleetwood,  which  marks  a  Turning-Point  in  that  Ser 
vice,  250. — Hooker's  Plans,  251. — Asks  to  be  Relieved,  253. 
— Meadein  Command,  253. —  Battle  of  Gettysburg,  254. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  VICKSBURG  CAMPAIGN  ----.-•..  270 
Operations  on  the  Mississippi,  271. — Grant  placed  in  Com 
mand,  272.  —  Plans  the  Campaign,  272.  —  Loss  at  Holly 
Springs,  273. — Sherman  and  Porter  Descend  the  River,  274. 
— Sherman's  Attempt  on  the  Yazoo,  275.  —  At  Haines's 
Bluff,  276. — Capture  of  Arkansas  Post,  277. — Cutting  a 
Canal,  278. — Yazoo  Pass  Attempted,  279. — Steele's  Bayou, 
280. — Grant  Crosses  the  Mississippi,  281. — Grierson's  Raid, 
282. — Action  at  Raymond,  283. — Capture  of  Jackson,  284. — 
Battle  of  Champion's  Hill,  285. — Pemberton  in  Vicksburg, 
286.— Siege  of  the  City  Begun,  287.— Surrender,  289. 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  DRAFT  RIOTS 290 

Attitude  of  the  Democratic  Party,  291. — Vallandigham  Ban 
ished,  294. — Speech  of  ex-President  Pierce,  294. — Speech  of 
Horatio  Seymour,  296. — Law  of  Substitutes  Persistently  Mis 
interpreted,  297. — The  Draft  in  New  York,  298. — The  Riots, 
299. — The  Autumn  Elections,  306. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  SIEGE  OF  CHARLESTON  -  307 

Blockade  of  the  Harbor,  308.  —  Du  Font's  Attack,  309. — 
Defeat,  310. — Capture  of  the  Atlanta,  311. — Gillmore's  Siege, 
312.— Assault  on  Fort  Wagner,  313.— Its  Capture,  3 15. —The 
Swamp  Angel,  316. — Bombardment  of  Charleston,  317. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  CHATTANOOGA  CAMPAIGN      ...       -  .318 

Rosecrans  and  Bragg,  318. — Fight  at  Dover,  318. — At  Frank 
lin,  318. — At  Milton,  320. — Morgan's  Raid,  321. — Manoeu 
vring  for  Chattanooga,  323. — Battle  of  Chickamauga,  324. — 
National  Forces  in  the  West  Reorganized,  329. — Battles  of 
Chattanooga,  330. — The  Battle  Above  the  Clouds,  331. — 
Capture  of  Mission  Ridge,  333. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  BLACK  CHAPTER      --------  334 

Persecutions  of  Union  Men,  335. — The  Black  Flag,  336. — 
The  Guerillas,  337. — Secession  from  Secession,  338. — Riot 
in  Concord,  N.  H.,  339. — Massacre  .  at  Fort  Pillow,  340. — 
Care  of  Prisoners,  342. — Andersonville,  343. — Other  Prisons, 
345.— Suspension  of  Exchanges,  346.— Violation  of  Paroles, 
347. — Principles  relating  to  Captures,  349. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  SANITARY  AND  CHRISTIAN  COMMISSIONS     -       -       -  351 
Women  in  the  War,  356. — The  Sanitary  Commission  Formed, 
352. — The  Popular  Idea  about  it,  355.— Work  of  the  Com 
mission,  356. — Sanitary  Fairs,  357. — The  Christian  Commis 
sion,  358. — Volunteer  Nurses,  361. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  OVERLAND  CAMPAIGN     -       -       -       ....  362 
Grant  made  Lieutenant-General,   with   Command  of  All  the 


X  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Armies,  365. — Headquarters  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
365. — Plan  of  the  Campaign,  366. — Position  of  the  Armies, 
367. — Relative  Numbers,  368. —  Grant  Crosses  the  Rapidan, 
370.— In  the  Wilderness,  371.— Battle  of  the  Wilderness, 
372.— Battle  of  Spottsylvania,  377.— Battle  of  Cold  Harbor, 
394. — The  Losses,  396. — Grant  moves  to  the  James,  398. — 
Crosses  the  James,  398. — Ewell  Sees  the  End,  399. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  CONFEDERATE  CRUISERS        .-.-..  400 
The  Alabama,  400. — Sunk  by  the  Kearsarge,  402. — The  Sumter, 
402. — Other  Cruisers,  403. — Protest  of  the  Government,  404. 
— Secretary  Seward's  Despatches,  405. — Privateering,  410. — 
Why  England  did  Not  Interfere,  411. — Arbitration,  412. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  ATLANTA  CAMPAIGN  •  -       -       -       -       -  413 

The  Meridian  Campaign,  414. — The  Shreveport  Expedition, 
415. — Battle  of  Sabine  Cross-Roads,  416. — Battle  of  Pleasant 
Hill,  417. — Bailey's  Dam,  418. — Sherman  and  Johnston,  419. 
— Sherman  begins  the  Campaign,  421. — Johnston  Abandons 
Resaca,  422. — Fighting  at  New  Hope  Church,  424. — The 
Position  at  Pine  Mountain,  425. — Johnston  at  Kenesaw,  426. 
— Fall  of  Gen.  Polk,  426. — Sherman  Employs  Negroes,  427. 
— Battle  of  Kenesaw,  428. — Crossing  the  Chattahoochee,  429. 
— Hood  Supersedes  Johnston,  430. — Action  at  Peachtree 
Creek,  432.— Battle  of  Atlanta,  433.— Fall  of  Gen.  McPher- 
son,  433. — The  Losses,  435. — Cavalry  Expeditions,  435. — 
Stoneman's  Raid,  436. — Fall  of  Atlanta,  437. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY       - 438 

The  Defences,  438. — Farragut's  Preparations,  439. — Passing 
the  Forts,  440. — Loss  of  the  Tecumseh,  440. — Fight  with  the 
Ram  Tennessee,  441. — Cost  of  the  Victory,  441. — Craven's 
Chivalry,  442. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  ADVANCE  ON  PETERSBURG  -  443 

Butler's   Movement,    443. — Beauregard's   Counter  Movement, 

443. — Smith's    Advance,    444. — Hancock's     Attack,    445. — 

Cutting  off  the  Railroads,  446. — The   Fight  for  the  Weldon 

Road,  446. — Burnside's  Mine. — 447. — The  Explosion,  448. — 


CONTENTS.  XI 

PAGE 

The  Slaughter  at  the  Crater,  449. — Fighting  at  Deep  Bottom, 
450. — Action  at  Reams  Station,  450. — Construction  of  an 
Army  Railroad,  451. — The  Siege  of  Petersburg  Begun,  451. 
— Early 's  Raid  toward  Washington,  452. — Battle  of  the 
Monocacy,  453. — Engagement  at  Winchester,  454. — Burning 
of  Chambersburg,  454. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
SHERIDAN  IN  THE  SHENANDOAH   ------  455 

Importance  of  the  Valley,  455.— Hunter  Asks  to  be  Relieved, 
455. — Sheridan's  Career,  456. — Grant's  Instructions,  457. — 
Interference  at  Washington,  457. — Lincoln  Gives  Grant  a 
Hint,  458. — Sheridan  Marches  on  Winchester,  458. — Minor 
Engagements,  459. — Sheridan's  Opportunity,  460. — Battle  of 
the  Opequan,  461. — Early  goes  Whirling  through  Win 
chester,  463. — Battle  of  Fisher's  Hill,  463. — Destruction  in 
the  Valley,  465. — Action  at  Tom's  Brook,  465. — Battle  of 
Cedar  Creek,  466. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  -  468 

Efforts  toward  Peace,  468. — The  Fremont  Convention,  469. — 
The  Republican  Convention,  470. — Nomination  of  Lincoln 
and  Johnson,  471. — The  Democratic  Convention,  472. — Its 
Denunciation  of  the  War,  473. — Nomination  of  McClellan 
and  Penclleton,  474. — Fremont  Withdraws,  474. — Character 
of  the  Canvass,  475. — The  Hope  of  the  Confederates,  477. — 
The  Issue  as  Popularly  Understood,  478. — Election  of 
Lincoln,  479. — Maryland  Abolishes  Slavery,  480. — The 
Highest  Achievement  of  the  American  People,  480. 

CHAPTER  XXX, 

THE  NATIONAL  FINANCES       -  -  481 

An  Empty  Treasury,  481. — Borrowing  Money  at  Twelve  per 
cent.,  481. — Salmon  P.  Chase  made  Secretary  of  the  Treasuty, 
481.— The  Direct-Tax  Bill,  482.— Issue  of  Demand  Notes, 
483. — Chase's  Courage,  483. — The  Banks  form  a  Syndicate, 
483. — Issue  of  Bonds,  484. — Amount  of  Coin  in  Circulation, 
484. — Suspension  of  Specie  Payments,  484. — Pay  of 
Soldiers,  484. — Greenbacks,  485. — Chase's  Plan  for  a  National 
Banking  System,  485. — The  Fractional  Currency,  486. — 
Fluctuations  of  Gold,  486.— The  Cost- of  the  War,  487. 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

I 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE  MARCH  TO  THE  SEA  -       -       -       -       -  488 

Sherman  makes  Atlanta  a  Military  Depot,  488. — His  Peculiar 
Position,  489. — Disaffection  in  the  Confederacy,  489. — Hood 
Attacks  the  Communications,  490. — Defence  of  Allatoona, 
491. — Thomas  Organizes  an  Army,  492. — Sherman  Deter 
mines  to  Go  Down  to  the  Sea,  492. — Destruction  in  Atlanta, 
493. — The  Order  of  March,  404. — Sherman's  Instructions, 
495. — The  Route,  495. — Incidents,  496. — Destruction  of  the 
Railroad,  497. — Killing  the  Bloodhounds,  497. — The  Bum 
mers,  497. — Capture  of  Fort  McAllister,  498. — Hardee  Evac 
uates  Savannah,  and  Sherman  Offers  it  as  a  Christmas 
Present  to  the  President,  499. — Battle  of  Franklin,  500. — 
Battle  of  Nashville,  501. — Hood's  Army  Destroyed,  502. 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 
THE  FINAL  BATTLES  -------  503 

Sherman  Marches  through  the  Carolinas,  504. — Johnston 
Restored  to  Command,  505. — Columbia  Burned,  507. — 
Charleston  Evacuated,  508. — Capture  of  Fort  Fisher,  509. — 
Battle  of  Averysboro,  509. — Battle  of  Bentonville,  510. — 
Schofield  Joins  Sherman,  510. — A  Peace  Conference,  511. — 
Battle  of  Waynesboro,  511. — Sheridan's  Raid  on  the  Upper 
James,  512. — Lee  Plans  to  Escape,  512. — Fighting  Before 
Petersburg,  513. — Battle  of  Five  Forks,  514. — Lee's  Lines 
Broken,  515. — Richmond  Evacuated,  516. — Lee's  Retreat, 
516. — His  Surrender,  518. — Grant's  Generous  Terms,  519. — 
Surrender  of  the  Other  Confederate  Armies,  520. 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
PEACE        --------       -       -       -  521 

The  War  Governors,  521. — Civilian  Patriots,  521. — The  Sudden 
Fall  of  the  Confederacy,  522. — Capture  of  Mr.  Davis,  523. — 
Character  of  the  Insurrection,  524. — Magnanimity  of  the  Vic 
tors,  525. — The  Assassination  Conspiracy,  526. — Lincoln's 
Second  Inaugural  Address,  528. — Lincoln  in  Richmond, 
529. — The  Grand  Review,  530. — The  Home-Coming,  530* — 
Lessons  of  the  War,  532. 
INDEX  -------  ...-535 


LIST    OF  MAPS. 

PAGE 

CHARLESTON  HARBOR     -       -       -       -       -       -       -       -  39 

SHOWING  THE  AREA  OF  THE  CONFEDERACY      ...  49 

BATTLE-FIELD  OF  BULL  RUN  ------  61 

BORDERS  OF  KENTUCKY  AND  TENNESSEE  -  100 

BATTLE-FIELD  OF  PEA  RIDGE  ------  108 

DELTA  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  -       - 112 

HAMPTON  ROADS      --------  129 

BATTLE-FIELD  OF  SHILOH   -       -       -       -       -       -       -137 

BATTLE-GROUNDS  NORTH  OF  RICHMOND  155 

BATTLE-FIELD  OF  MALVERN  HILL       -----  169 

BATTLE-FIELD  OF  SOUTH  MOUNTAIN      -       ...  189 

BATTLE-FIELD  OF  THE  ANTIETAM       -----  193 

BATTLE-FIELD  OF  FREDERICKSBURG  224 

BATTLE-FIELD  OF  PERRYVILLE     -       -       -       -       -       -  231 

BATTLE-FIELD  OF  CHANCELLORSVILLE   -        -       -       -  244 

VICINITY  OF  GETTYSBURG -  255 

VICINITY  OF  VICKSBURG 273 


XIV  LIST    OF    MAPS. 


PAGB 


FORT  WAGNER  AND  APPROACHES 313 

BATTLE-FIELD  OF  CHICKAMAUGA 324 

VICINITY  OF  CHATTANOOGA                      ,-       -       -       -  332 

THE  WILDERNESS  BATTLE-FIELD 369 

BATTLE-FIELD  OF  SPOTTSYLVANIA       -  .    •       -       -       -  377 

ROUTE  FROM  CHATTANOOGA  TO  ATLANTA     -       -       -  421 

MOBILE  BAY  ----------  439 

DEFENCES  OF  RICHMOND  AND  PETERSBURG   -       -       -  445 

THE  SHENANDOAH  VALLEY         - 457 

SHERMAN'S  ROUTE  TO  THE  SEA      -----  496 

BATTLE-GROUNDS  OF  NASHVILLE  AND  FRANKLIN      -       -  500 

SHERMAN'S  ROUTE  THROUGH  THE  CAROLINAS       -       -  505 

WILMINGTON  AND  FORT  FISHER         -       -       -       -       -  509 

ROUTE  OF  LEE'S  RETREAT 517 


THE  ¥AE  OF  SECESSION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    CAUSES. 

WHEN,  within  a  period  ot  eighteen  months,  a 
Dutch  vessel  entered  the  James  River  with  a  small 
cargo  of  African  slaves  (1619),  and  the  "  May 
flower"  landed  at  Plymouth,  Mass.,  a  company  of 
seekers  after  liberty  (1620),  the  prime  conditions 
were  established  for  one  of  the  mightiest  conflicts 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  It  is  true  that  some  of 
the  descendants  of  those  slaves,  while  still  in  bond 
age  under  indulgent  masters,  lived  easy,  careless, 
and  even  slothful  lives  ;  it  is  true  that  the  Pilgrims 
themselves  had  but  a  narrow  definition  of  liberty ; 
but  none  the  less  the  two  antagonistic  principles 
were  there,  and  each  was  working  toward  an  ex 
treme  development.  When  two  centuries  had 
gone  by,  the  sorrowful  negro  knew  the  difference 
between  his  native  Virginia  and  the  horrors  of  the 
cotton  plantations  where  he  was  sent  in  gangs  to 
be  used  up  in  seven  years  ;  while  the  educational 
advancement  of  a  people  endowed  with  democratic 
government,  common  schools,  and  a  free  press, 


2  THE    SLAVE    TRADE.  [1772. 

had  slowly  expanded  the  Pilgrim's  demand  of  "  lib 
erty  for  us"  into  "liberty  for  all." 

The  business  of  buying  slaves  in  Africa  and  im 
porting  them  into  America  was  very  profitable, 
and  for  a  long  time  its  moral  character  was  not 
questioned.  That  same  monarch  by  whose  name 
we  designate  our  accepted  version  of  the  Scrip 
tures,  chartered  companies  to  carry  on  the  trade, 
and  took  stock  in  them.  William  of  Orange,  who 
invaded  England  to  restore  the  liberties  of  Eng 
lishmen,  especially  fostered  the  traffic,  and  de 
clared  it  was  "highly  beneficial  to  the  nation."  A 
century  and  a  half  ago,  the  great  evangelist, 
George  Whitefield,  was  compelling  a  company  of 
slaves  to  work  a  plantation  for  the  support  of  an 
orphan  asylum.  In  1760,  when  the  colony  of 
South  Carolina  passed  an  act  prohibiting  the  fur 
ther  importation  of  slaves,  the  British  government 
refused  to  sanction  it,  declaring  that  the  trade  was 
not  only  beneficial  but  necessary  to  the  mother 
country.  Virginia  met  with  a  similar  rebuff  when 
she  attempted  to  place  a  prohibitory  tariff  on 
slave  importation  in  1772.  Indeed,  the  gov 
ernors  of  the  various  colonies,  in  the  West  Indies 
as  well  as  on  the  continent,  were  commanded  by 
the  home  government  to  sanction  no  law  for 
the  restriction  of  the  slave  trade.  Such  a  law  was 
passed  in  Jamaica  in  1765,  but  was  vetoed  by  the 
governor,  who  declared  that  he  acted  in  accord 
ance  with  his  instructions.  The  opposition  to  the 
slave  trade,  which  culminated  in  its  abolition  by 
the  United  States  in  1808,  has  been  attributed  by 


1793.]  THE    COTTON-GIN.  3 

the  apologists  for  slavery  solely  to  motives  of  hu 
manity  ;  by  its  antagonists,  mainly  to  considera 
tions  of  thrift,  since  that  trade  diminished  the  profits 
of  the  American  slave-breeder.  It  is  probable 
that  it  arose  from  both  of  these  motives. 

When  the  Federal  Constitution  was  formed,  the 
word  "slave"  was  carefully  excluded  from  it,  al 
though  three  of  its  provisions  relate  to  slaves ;  but 
an  attempt  was  made  to  protect  the  interests  of 
slavery  with  compromises  that  have  proved  to  be 
the  weakest  portions  of  that  great  instrument.  The 
institution  died  out  of  the  Northern  States,  partly 
because  slave  labor  was  not  adapted  to  their  in 
dustries  and  mode  of  life,  and  partly  because  of  an 
awakening  conscience  on  the  question  of  its  mor 
ality.  On  the  other  hand,  the  black  man  could  do 
what  the  Southern  climate  almost  prohibited  white 
men  from  doing,  and  was  especially  useful  in  the 
cultivation  of  rice,  tobacco,  sugar,  arid  cotton.  Eli 
Whitney's  invention  of  the  cotton-gin  in  1793 — a 
machine  that  takes  the  seeds  out  of  3,000  pounds  of 
cotton  in  a  day,  which  before  had  been  done  by  negro 
women  at  the  rate  of  one  pound  a  day — increased 
the  value  of  every  slave  in  the  country,  and  gave 
birth  to  dreams  of  empire  such  as  had  never  before 
been  known  in  the  western  world.  So  quickly 
was  its  value  seen,  that  before  the  model  was 
quite  completed  the  building  was  broken  open  at 
night  and  the  machine  stolen.  The  invention  was 
pirated  throughout  the  cotton  States  (the  legis 
latures  of  but  two  of  which,  the  Carolinas,  gave 
Whitney  even  a  small  compensation),  and  all 


4  INSURRECTIONS.  [1822. 

attempts  to   renew   the  patent  were   voted  down 
in  Congress  by  the  Southern  members. 

In  the  same  year  in  which  the  cotton-gin  was  in 
vented,  a  fugitive-slave  law  was  passed  by  Con 
gress,  to  carry  out  that  provision  of  the  Constitu 
tion  by  which  the  return  of  runaway  slaves  was 
guaranteed.  In  time,  as  the  anti-slavery  sentiment 
grew  in  the  Northern  States,  one  after  another  of 
them  enacted  what  were  known  as  personal  lib 
erty  laws,  which  were  calculated,  some  directly 
and  some  indirectly,  to  prevent  the  execution  of 
any  law  for  the  reclamation  of  fugitive  slaves. 
That  of  Ohio  prescribed  a  heavy  penalty  for  kid 
napping  a  colored  person  with  the  intention  of 
taking  him  out  of  the  State.  That  of  New  Jersey 
granted  a  jury  trial  whenever  a  negro  was  claimed 
as  a  fugitive  slave,  and  excluded  the  testimony  of 
the  alleged  owner.  That  of  Pennsylvania  forbade 
any  judge  or  magistrate  to  take  cognizance  of  any 
case  under  the  Federal  slave  act.  And  so  gener 
ally  of  others. 

Insurrections  of  a  servile  population  are  naturally 
to  be  expected,  and  it  was  constantly  urged  by  the 
friends  of  slavery  that  agitation  of  the  question  of 
its  rightfulness  was  liable  at  any  time  to  produce  a 
murderous  outbreak.  Many  who  admitted  that 
the  whole  system  was  wrong  and  unfortunate, 
considered  "  the  horrors  of  Santo  Domingo"  a 
sufficient  argument  against  all  discussion.  And 
yet  there  were  but  two  such  affairs  of  any  impor 
tance  in  the  United  States.  In  1822  Denmark 
Vesey,  an  intelligent  and  educated  free  negro  in 


1831.]  INSURRECTIONS.  5 

Charleston,  planned  an  insurrection  ;  but  the  plot 
was  discovered,  and  Vesey,  with  thirty-four  of  his 
followers,  was  hanged.  In  1831  Nat  Turner,  a 
slave  of  Southampton  County,  Virginia,  who  saw 
visions  and  dreamed  dreams,  conceived  that  he 
had  been  chosen  by  the  Lord  to  lead  the  blacks 
out  of  bondage.  Setting  out  with  six  men,  he 
undertook  to  rouse  the  entire  colored  population 
and  kill  all  the  whites.  The  band  of  insurgents 
increased  as  it  went,  and  in  two  days  fifty-five 
whites  were  murdered.  But  the  alarm  spread 
rapidly,  the  planters  came  riding  in  from  all  direc 
tions,  armed  to  the  teeth,  and  after  a  fight  the 
insurgents  were  overcome.  Seventeen  negroes 
were  hanged,  and  others  who  were  suspected  were 
tortured,  burned,  or  shot. 

In  one  respect,  these  two  affairs  produced  pre 
cisely  opposite  effects.  In  South  Carolina,  after 
Vesey's  insurrection,  a  law  was  passed  forbidding 
free  negroes  to  reside  in  the  State,  and  reducing 
to  slavery  any  black  person  that  should  enter  it. 
In  pursuance  of  this,  negro  sailors,  citizens  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  employed  on  vessels  entering  the  port 
of  Charleston,  were  seized  and  imprisoned  ;  and 
when  Massachusetts  sent  a  commissioner  to  lay 
her  protest  before  the  South  Carolina  authorities, 
he  was  ordered  to  leave  that  State  at  once,  on 
peril  of  his  life.  On  the  other  hand,  Turner's 
insurrection  was  followed  by  a  proposition  in  the 
Virginia  Legislature  to  abolish  slavery ;  and 
though  this  was  voted  down,  it  received  consider 
able  support  from  able  and  earnest  men. 


6  ANTI-SLAVERY    PUBLICATIONS.  [1837. 

Almost  simultaneously  with  the  Southampton 
insurrection  appeared  in  Boston  the  first  number 
of  a  weekly  paper  entitled  "  The  Liberator."  It 
was  edited  by  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  whose  sole 
purpose  was  to  declaim  constantly  against  the 
injustice  and  sinfulness  of  slavery,  and  to  demand 
its  immediate  abolition.  His  first  words  in  the 
cause  have  become  famous  :  "  I  am  in  earnest.  I 
will  not  equivocate,  I  will  not  excuse,  I  will  not 
retreat  a  single  inch  ;  and  I  will  be  heard."  Other 
publications  of  this  character  were  established 
within  a  few  years,  at  various  points  in  the 
Northern  States.  Among  them  were  the  "  Anti- 
Slavery  Standard,"  New  York,  edited  by  Sydney 
Howard  Gay,  and  the  "  North  Star,"  at  Rochester, 
edited  by  Frederick  Douglass,  a  runaway  slave 
from  Maryland.  The  Rev.  Elijah  P.  Lovejoy 
attempted  to  establish  a  religious  and  anti-slavery 
paper,  first  at  St.  Louis  and  afterward  at  Alton, 
Illinois,  in  1835-37;  but  three  times  a  pro-slavery 
mob  threw  his  press  and  types  into  the  river,  and 
the  last  time  they  murdered  Lovejoy,  who  was 
defending  his  property.  Anti-slavery  societies 
were  formed,  public  addresses  were  issued,  con 
ventions  were  held,  and  lecturers  went  through  the 
Northern  States,  to  rouse  the  public  conscience  on 
the  subject  of  the  great  national  wrong,  of  which 
they  held  that  the  North  was  almost  equally  guilty 
with  the  South.  They  were  hissed,  ridiculed,  and 
often  mobbed,  and  the  great  political  parties — 
Whig  and  Democratic — were  very  careful  not  to 
be  identified  with  the  cause.  The  now  venerable 


1837.]  ANTI-SLAVERY    PUBLICATIONS.  7 

poet  Whittier  just  escaped  death  at  the  hands  of  a 
mob  in  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  when  he  went 
there  with  George  Thompson  in  1835  to  hold  an 
anti-slavery  meeting.  "  They  came  with  guns," 
said  he  in  speaking  of  it  recently,  "though  I  did  n't 
see  the  necessity,  as  we  were  not  armed." 

The  work  of  the  journalists  and  lecturers  was 
powerfully  supplemented  by  publications  in  book 
form.  The  American  Anti-Slavery  Society  issued 
compilations  of  advertisements,  news-paragraphs, 
and  other  documents  from  Southern  sources,  de 
signed  to  show  that  overworking,  starving,  cruelly 
flogging,  and  otherwise  maltreating  slaves,  both 
men  and  women,  and  hunting  fugitives  with  guns 
and  bloodhounds,  were  common  incidents  in  planta 
tion  life.  Here  are  a  few  out  of  thousands  :  "  Com 
mitted  to  jail,  a  negro — had  on  his  right  leg  an 
iron  band  with  one  link  of  a  chain."  "  Ranaway, 
the  negress  Fanny — had  on  an  iron  band  about 
her  neck."  "  Ranaway,  Sam — he  was  shot  a  short 
time  since  through  the  hand,  and  has  several  shots 
in  his  left  arm  and  side."  "  Ranaway,  Anthony — 
one  of  his  ears  cut  off,  and  his  left  hand  cut  with 
an  axe."  "  Ranaway,  a  negro  woman  and  two 
children.  A  few  days  before  she  went  off,  I  burnt 
her  with  a  hot  iron,  on  the  left  side  of  her  face.  I 
tried  to  make  the  letter  M."  Mrs.  Stowe's  "  Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin,"  which  some  of  the  great  book 
houses  were  afraid  to  publish,  lest  it  should  hurt 
their  Southern  trade,  was  brought  out  by  a  new 
Boston  house  in  1852,  created  a  profound  sensa 
tion,  and  has  proved  the  most  popular  of  all  novels 


8  ANTI-SLAVERY    PUBLICATIONS.  [1849. 

that  were  ever  written.  Two  years  later  Richard 
Hildreth,  the  historian,  published  his  "  Despotism 
in  America,"  a  learned  review  of  the  whole  subject 
of  slavery.  In  1827  George  M.  Stroud  brought 
out  a  compilation  of  the  slave  laws  of  the  several 
States,  (of  which  he  issued  an  enlarged  edition  in 
1856),  and  found  no  difficulty  in  filling  many  pages 
with  such  extracts  as  these,  from  the  Virginia 
code  of  1849  :  "  Every  assemblage  of  negroes  for 
the  purpose  of  instruction  in  reading  or  writing 
shall  be  an  unlawful  assembly."  "  Every  assem 
blage  of  negroes  for  the  purpose  of  religious  wor 
ship,  when  such  worship  is  conducted  by  a  negro, 
shall  be  an  unlawful  assembly ;  and  a  justice  may 
issue  his  warrant  to  any  officer  or  other  person, 
requiring  him  to  enter  any  place  where  such  as 
semblage  may  be,  and  seize  any  negro  therein, 
and  he  or  any  other  justice  may  order  such  negro 
to  be  punished  with  stripes."  And  this  from 
Kentucky's:  "If  any  negro,  mulatto,  or  Indian, 
bond  or  free,  shall  at  any  time  lift  his  or  her  hand 
in  opposition  to  any  person  not  being  a  negro, 
mulatto,  or  Indian,  he  or  she  so  offending  shall  for 
such  offense,  proved  by  the  oath  of  the  party 
before  a  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  county  where 
such  offence  shall  be  committed,  receive  thirty 
lashes  on  his  or  her  bare  back,  well  laid  on, 
by  order  of  such  justice."  And  this  from  Alabama's  : 
"  Any  person  who  shall  attempt  to  teach  any  free 
person  of  color  or  slave  to  spell,  read,  or  write, 
shall  be  fined  not  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  nor  more  than  five  hundred  dollars."  And 


1857.]  ANTI-SLAVERY    PUBLICATIONS.  9 

this  from  Louisiana's  :  "  Whoever  shall  make  use 
of  language  in  any  public  discourse  from  the  bar, 
the  bench,  the  stage,  the  pulpit,  or  in  any  place 
whatsoever,  or  whoever  shall  make  use  of  language 
in  private  discourses  or  conversations,  or  shall 
make  use  of  signs  or  actions,  having  a  tendency  to 
produce  discontent  among  the  free  colored  popu 
lation  of  this  State,  or  to  excite  insubordination 
among  the  slaves,  .  .  .  shall  suffer  imprison 
ment  at  hard  labor  not  less  than  three  years  nor 
more  than  twenty-one  years,  or  death,  at  the  dis 
cretion  of  the  court."  Some  of  these  books  had 
no  great  popular  circulation,  but  they  furnished 
orators  and  editors  with  facts  and  arguments  in  a 
convenient  form,  which  were  elaborated  and 
repeated  in  a  thousand  ways.  Special  emphasis 
was  given  to  the/fact  that  the  slave  codes  neces 
sarily  ignored  the  sacredness  of  the  marriage  rela 
tion  and  practically  gave  the  master  power  of  life 
and  death  over  his  servants.  In  1857  Hinton 
Rowan  Helper,  a  North-Carolinian,  published  a 
volume  that  created  almost  as  much  of  a  sensation 
as  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin."  It  was  entitled  "  The 
Impending  Crisis  of  the  South  :  how  to  meet  it  "- 
was  an  argument  against  slavery  not  only  on  moral 
but  on  economic  grounds,  and  was  crowded  with 
significant  facts  and  statistics.  Its  author  was  one 
of  the  non-slaveholders  at  the  South,  and  pleaded 
for  the  rights  of  his  class,  which  he  declared  were 
completely  and  systematically  sacrificed  for  the 
interests  of  the  three  hundred  and  forty-seven 
thousand  slaveholders.  This  book  was  made  a 


IO  DEFENCE    OF    SLAVERY.  [1841. 

subject  of  warm  discussion  in  the  national  House 
of  Representatives,  and  a  slaveholding  member 
offered  a  resolution  that  it  was  "  insurrectionary 
and  hostile  to  the  domestic  peace  and  tranquillity 
of  the  country,"  and  no  member  who  had  recom 
mended  it  was  fit  to  be  Speaker  of  the  House. 

For  answer  to  all  these  attacks  upon  the  slave 
power,  there  was  no  lack  of  pluck  and  ingenuity. 
Senator  Hayne,  of  South  Carolina,  replying  to  a 
speech  of  Daniel  Webster's  in  1830,  said:  "We 
are  ready  to  make  up  the  issue  as  to  the  influ 
ence  of  slavery  on  individual  and  national  charac 
ter — on  the  prosperity  and  greatness  either  of  the 
United  States  or  particular  States."  John  C. 
Calhoun  laughed  at  the  idea  that  the  abolitionists 
wanted  to  liberate  the  blacks  by  force  of  arms. 
"  The  war  they  wage  against  us  is  of  a  very  differ 
ent  character,  and  far  more  effective  ;  it  is  waged, 
not  against  our  lives,  but  our  character."  The 
honor  of  originating  and  first  publishing  the  theory 
that  slavery,  as  it  existed  in  the  United  States,  in 
stead  of  being  a  sin,  was  sanctioned  by  the  laws  of 
God,  is  claimed  for  the  Rev.  James  Smylie,  a 
Presbyterian  clergyman  of  Mississippi,  about  1833. 
But  others  following  his  lead  became  more  noted  as 
advocates  of  that  doctrine.  The  Rev.  Thornton 
Stringfellow,  of  Virginia,  wrote  in  1841  a  pamphlet 
designed  to  prove  from  the  Scriptures,  "  that  the 
institution  of  slavery  has  received  the  sanction  of 
the  Almighty  in  the  patriarchal  age ;  that  it  was 
incorporated  into  the  only  national  constitution 
which  ever  emanated  from  God  ;  that  its  legality 


1850.]  DEFENCE    OF    SLAVERY.  I  I 

was  recognized  and  its  relative  duties  regulated 
by  Jesus  Christ  in  his  kingdom  ;  and  that  it  is  full 
of  mercy."  It  must  be  acknowledged  that  from 
his  premises  he  made  a  very  strong  argument. 
His  pamphlet  was  reprinted  in  various  forms,  and 
widely  circulated ;  and  in  current  literature  the 
name  of  Stringfellow  became  almost  as  familiar  as 
that  of  Longfellow.  Another  elaborate  essay, 
which  exhibited  vast  historical  research  and  had 
great  weight,  was  by  Thomas  R.  Dew,  ex-Presi 
dent  of  William  and  Mary  College,  who  defended 
the  institution  on  all  the  counts  that  had  been 
made  against  it,  and  especially  argued  that  slavery 
had  ameliorated  the  condition  of  women — referring 
not  to  the  black  women,  but  to  the  wives  and 
daughters  of  the  slaveholders.  Edward  Everett, 
in  one  of  his  earliest  speeches  in  Congress,  de 
fended  the  institution  so  vehemently  that  John 
Randolph,  referring  to  it,  said  :  "  I  envy  neither 
the  head  nor  the  heart  of  any  man  from  the  North 
who  can  defend  slavery  on  principle."  Among 
other  eminent  men  at  the  North  who  apologized 
for  slavery  was  Prof.  S.  F.  B.  Morse,  inventor  of 
the  magnetic  telegraph.  In  1835  the  professor 
wrote  a  book  to  show  that  the  American  Republic 
was  likely  to  be  destroyed  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  ;  but  he  could  see  no  danger  lurking  in  the 
system  of  human  bondage.  The  Rev.  Joseph  C. 
Stiles,  speaking  before  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Detroit,  in  1850,  set 
forth  the  astounding  proposition  that  the  strong 
est  and  purest  expression  of  anti-slavery  sentiment 


12         .  DEFENCE    OF    SLAVERY.  [1858. 

ever  made  by  man  had  been  uttered  by  the  South, 
and  that  the  people  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line  had  done  more  to  convert  the  heathen  than  the 
whole  world  beside.  His  proof  of  the  first  prop 
osition  lay  in  a  computation  of  the  money  value  of 
the  total  number  of  slaves,  250,000,  that  had  been 
manumitted  from  time  to  time  ;  of  the  second,  in 
estimating  the  number  of  converts  by  all  the  for 
eign  missions  at  200,000,  and  comparing  with  it 
the  number  of  colored  members  of  two  denomina 
tions  in  the  South,  Baptist  and  Methodist — 264,000. 
The  Rev.  Nehemiah  Adams,  of  Boston,  in  his 
"  South  Side  View  of  Slavery  "  (1854),  arrived  at 
the  conclusion  that  "  Religion  in  the  masters  de 
stroys  everything  in  slavery  which  makes  it  obnox 
ious  ;  and  not  only  so,  it  converts  the  relation  of 
the  slave  into  an  effectual  means  of  happiness." 
And  the  Rev.  William  G.  Brownlow,  afterward 
famous  as  an  upholder  of  the  Union  cause  among 
the  secessionists  of  Tennessee,  in  1858  maintained 
in  a  public  debate  in  Philadelphia,  that  the  insti 
tution  ought  to  be  fostered  and  extended. 

Not  only  did  the  defenders  of  slavery  seek  by 
all  sorts  of  ingenious  arguments  and  Scripture  ci 
tations  to  prove  that  the  black  man  was  best  off 
in  slavery,  while  freedom  was  a  curse  to  him,  but 
in  one  notable  instance  they  attempted  to  make 
statistics  corroborate  their  assertions.  Having  con 
trol  of  all  departments  of  the  national  government, 
they  were  able  to  edit  the  census  of  1840  to  suit 
themselves.  Somewhere  between  the  original 
manuscripts  of  the  marshals  and  the  final  printing 


1858.]  DEFENCE    OF    SLAVERY.  13 

of  the  volumes,  the  figures  concerning  the  insane, 
deaf  and  dumb,  blind,  and  idiotic,  were  changed, 
so  that  it  was  made  to  appear  that  these  disabili 
ties  were  alarmingly  prevalent  among  the  colored 
people  of  the  North,  and  almost  unknown  among 
those  of  the  South.  Towns  in  New  England  that 
contained  no  colored  people  at  all,  were  put  down  as 
having  from  two  to  six  colored  insane.  Ex-President 
John  Quincy  Adams,  then  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  made  five  determined  attempts 
to  have  the  matter  investigated  by  Congress,  but 
every  time  he  was  thwarted. 

The  constant  discussion  and  agitation  aroused 
all  sorts  of  fears,  distrust,  and  animosity,  especially 
among  Southerners,  who  believed,  or  professed  to 
believe,  that  they  were  living  over  a  volcano. 
"Abolitionist"  became  the  severest  term  of  re 
proach  ever  used  in  the  South  ;  and  no  Northern 
man,  when  known  to  entertain  anti-slavery  senti 
ments,  was  permitted  to  sojourn  there,  or  even  to 
travel  on  business.  The  mails  were  regularly  ex 
amined  in  many  Southern  post-offices,  and  any 
thing  that  appeared  to  be  an  "  incendiary  document " 
was  immediately  burned.  When  it  was  discovered 
that  a  botanist  in  the  District  of  Columbia  had 
some  copies  of  an  anti-slavery  journal  among  the 
papers  in  which  he  preserved  his  plants,  he  was 
mobbed  and  thrown  into  prison,  where  he  was 
kept  for  six  months.  At  the  North  there  were 
organizations,  nominally  secret,  but  pretty  well 
known,  and  generally  alluded  to  as  "the  under 
ground  railroad,"  for  assisting  fugitive  slaves  to 


14  THE    CONSTITUTION.  t1850- 

escape  from  bondage  and  reach  the  Canada  line. 
The  churches  North  and  South  were  violently 
agitated  over  the  question  of  slavery,  and  the  re 
sult  was  a  division  of  the  national  organizations  of 
three  great  denominations — Baptist,  Presbyterian, 
and  Methodist. 

Each  section  accused  the  other  of  violating  the 
Constitution,  and  both  accusations  were  true.  The 
Constitution  guaranteed  rights  of  property  in 
slaves,  and  it  provided  that  the  citizens  of  each 
State  should  be  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  and 
immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States.  But 
a  Southern  man  could  not  travel  in  the  North  with 
his  slaves,  and  a  Northern  man  could  not  travel  in 
the  South  with  his  opinions.  The  fact  was,  the 
compromises  of  the  Constitution  were  an  attempt 
to  reconcile  the  irreconcilable.  Slavery  anywhere 
in  the  land  was  incompatible  with  freedom 
anywhere  in  the  land  —  even  freedom  of  speech. 
To  the  abolitionist,  the  Constitution,  as  one  of  them 
expressed  it  (borrowing  the  words  of  Isaiah),  was 
a  covenant  with  death  and  an  agreement  with 
hell ;  to  the  slaveholder,  it  was  a  failure  unless  it 
protected  slavery.  Neither  preserved  it  intact,  be 
cause  neither  could.  The  men  of  the  South  were 
not  all  slaveholders,  nor  were  the  men  of  the 
North  all  abolitionists.  But  the  non-slaveholding 
class  in  the  slave  States  —  variously  known  as 
"  poor  whites,"  "  mean  whites,"  "  crackers,"  and 
"dirt-eaters" — had  very  little  to  do  with  public 
affairs,  being  almost  as  poor  and  ignorant  as  the 
bondmen  themselves.  And  when  Mr.  Seward  in 


1856.]  THE    ASSAULT    ON    SUMNER.  15 

1850  proclaimed  that  there  was  "  a  higher  law  than 
the  Constitution,"  and  a  few  years  later  that  we 
were  in  the  midst  of  "an  irrepressible  conflict," 
and  Mr.  Lincoln  said,  "  I  believe  this  government 
cannot  endure  permanently  half  slave  and  half 
free,"  it  was  evident  that  the  rising  party  at  the 
North  must  sooner  or  later  become  an  abolition 
party,  whether  it  wanted  to  or  not. 

Two  dramatic  episodes  intensified  the  feeling 
and  increased  the  popular  alarm  on  either  side. 
One,  in  1856,  was  an  assault,  for  words  spoken  in 
debate,  upon  Senator  Charles  Sumner,  of  Massa 
chusetts,  by  a  South  Carolina  Congressman,  who 
beat  him  upon  the  head  with  a  heavy  cane  in  the 
Senate  Chamber,  almost  destroying  his  life.  The 
real  cause  for  alarm  in  this  case  lay  not  so  much 
in  the  fact  that  an  individual  had  lost  his  temper 
and  done  what  he  ought  not  to  have  done,  as  in  the 
action  of  his  constituents,  who,  instead  of  rebuking 
their  representative,  deliberately  made  his  offence 
their  own  by  unanimously  re-electing  him  when  he 
resigned  after  a  majority  (but  not  the  necessary 
two  thirds)  had  voted  to  expel  him  from  his  seat 
for  the  murderous  deed.  The  other  was  John 
Brown's  raid  into  Virginia  in  1859,  f°r  tne  purpose 
of  liberating  the  slaves  by  force  of  arms — a  project 
that  lacked  all  justification  of  possible  success. 

While  the  contest  of  opinion  and  the  education 
of  conscience  were  in  progress,  politicians  and 
statesmen  were  working  at  the  same  problem  on 
other  lines.  Alexander  Hamilton,  in  urging  the 
New  York  Convention  to  adopt  the  Federal  Con- 


1 6  THE    MISSOURI    COMPROMISE.  [1820. 

stitution,  said  the  Convention  that  had  framed  it 
was  "governed  by  the  spirit  of  accommodation," 
and  "  it  was  necessary  that  all  parties  should  be 
indulged."     The  attempt  to  indulge  all  parties  was 
kept  up  for  nearly  seventy  years,  and  to  many  of 
our  public  men  it  never  occurred  that  it  was  possi 
ble  to  do  anything  else.       By  the  Ordinance   of 
1787,    slavery   was    excluded    from    the    territory 
northwest  of  the  Ohio  River,  but  as  a  compromise 
the  slaveholders  were  permitted  to  recapture  slaves 
that  escaped  into  it.     As  the  country  grew  rapidly 
after  the  adoption  of   the  Constitution,  and  the 
natural  antagonism  between  the  two  systems   of 
labor    was    more  apparent,    each  section  became 
fearful  of  the  other's  supremacy,  and  the  idea  was 
to  some  extent  established  of  admitting  new  States 
in  pairs,  a  free  State  and  a  slave  State  at  the  same 
time.     When  Missouri    applied  for  admission,  in 
December,  1818,  with  a  slave  clause  in  her  Consti 
tution,  the  representatives  of  the  free  States  ob 
jected.     They  held  that  the   institution  was  only 
tolerated  by  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  should 
be  excluded  from  the  Territories  and  from  new 
States.     The  Southerners  pointed  to  the  fact  that 
Missouri  was  not  a  part  of  the  Northwest  Terri 
tory,  but  was  included  in  the  Louisiana  purchase, 
in  which  slavery  already  existed   to   some  extent, 
and  took  the  ground  that  Congress  had  no  right  to 
prohibit  it  in  the  Territories.   After  discussing  the 
subject  for  two  years,  Congress  adopted  a  compro 
mise  proposed  by  Henry  Clay.     This  consisted  in 
"admitting  Missouri  as  a  slave  State,  and  providing 


1832.]  NULLIFICATION.  1 7 

that  all  other  territory  north  of  the  parallel  of  36° 
30'  (Missouri's  southern  boundary)  should  thence 
forth  be  free. 

Some  thought  that  a  greater  danger  to  the 
Union  lay  in  the  opposition  of  interests  on  the 
question  of  the  tariff.  Various  tariffs  were 
adopted  from  time  to  time,  but  only  once  did 
any  serious  difficulty  arise.  That  was  when  South 
Carolina  objected  to  the  collection  of  duties  in 
Charleston  harbor,  in  1832,  and  promulgated  her 
doctrine  of  nullification  —  that  any  State  had  a 
right  to  nullify  such  of  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  as  might  not  be  acceptable  to  her.  This, 
expanded  into  the  bold  theory  that  no  State  had 
resigned  its  sovereignty  by  accepting  the  Federal 
Constitution,  and  that  each  was  at  liberty  to  with 
draw  from  the  Union  at  will,  was  made  the  justifi 
cation  for  the  attempt  at  secession  in  1861;  but  no 
such  mere  abstract  principle  was  the  cause  of  the 
great  insurrection. 

In  the  Presidential  canvass  of  1844  the  real 
issue  was  the  annexation  of  Texas,  which  claimed 
to  have  established  its  independence  of  Mexico. 
The  Democratic  party,  which  favored  the  scheme, 
sought  to  conciliate  Northern  sentiment  by  de 
claring,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  disputed 
boundary-line  of  Oregon  should  be  carried  up  to 
54°  40',  with  or  without  war  with  England.  This 
was  popularly  called  the  "fifty-four-forty-or-fight " 
plank.  Their  candidate,  James  K.  Polk,  was  elected, 
Texas  was  admitted  as  a  slave  State,  and  the 
Mexican  war  was  fought  in  consequence.  But  when 


1 8  THE    FUGITIVE-SLAVE    LAW.  [1850. 

it  came  to  the  question  of  Oregon's  boundary  (which 
England  wanted  to  fix  at  Columbia  River),  the 
Administration  ignored  the  fifty-four-forty-or-fight 
promise,  and  quietly  accepted  a  compromise  at  the 
parallel  of  49°,  which  gave  away  half  the  harbors 
of  Puget  Sound,  and  but  for  which  we  might  now 
practically  possess  the  entire  Pacific  coast. 

Still  another  struggle  to  maintain  the  balance  of 
power  between  free  and  slave  States  was  carried 
on  over  the  question  of  a  homestead  law.  The 
slaveholders  wanted  no  legislation  that  would 
facilitate  the  peopling  of  the  Territories  with  small 
farmers,  and  every  form  of  homestead  law  met  in 
Congress  not  only  their  opposition  but  that  of  their 
Northern  political  allies.  When  at  last  the  Demo 
cratic  members  from  the  free  States  were  afraid 
to  deny  any  longer  to  their  constituents  the  oppor 
tunity  to  acquire  homes  in  the  great  West,  they 
voted  with  the  Republican  members  for  such  a 
bill;  but  James  Buchanan,  the  last  of  the  pro- 
slavery  presidents,  vetoed  it. 

In  1850  Mr.  Clay  brought  forward  some  more 
compromises,  the  principal  of  which  were,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  admission  of  California  as  a  free  State, 
and  on  the  other  the  enactment  of  a  more  stringent 
fugitive-slave  law.  All  of  the  bills  were  passed, 
and  received  the  signature  of  President  Fillmore. 
The  new  slave  law  was  denounced  at  the  North  as 
infamous  and  insulting;  and  many  of  the  States 
passed  new  liberty  bills  to  nullify  it.  However 
necessary  it  might  have  been  for  the  security  of 
slave  property,  it  certainly  was  not  consistent  with 


1856.]  THE    FUGITIVE-SLAVE    LAW.  19 

the  theory  of  any  other  kind  of  property.  A 
Northern  man  might  sit  still  and  see  his  next-door 
neighbor's  horses  and  cattle  stray  away  ;  but  if  a 
Southerner  appeared  on  the  scene,  pointed  at  a 
black  man,  and  said,  "That  is  my  runaway  slave," 
the  Northerner  was  required  to  assist  in  his  cap 
ture.  If  the  black  man  replied,  "  I  am  no  one's 
slave,  I  am  a  free  negro,"  the  question  could  not 
be  tried  by  a  jury,  but  was  submitted  to  a  commis 
sioner  ;  and  this  commissioner's  fee  was  to  be 
twice  as  great  if  he  decided  in  favor  of  the  alleged 
master  as  if  he  decided  in  favor  of  the  negro. 
When  an  alleged  fugitive  had  been  thus  secured, 
he  was  to  be  returned  to  the  master's  residence  at 
the  expense  of  the  United  States  Government. 
Under  this  law  Anthony  Burns,  a  recaptured  slave, 
was  marched  through  the  streets  of  Boston  by 
a  strong  military  guard  while  they  were  thronged 
with  excited  people,  and  was  placed  on  board  of  a 
revenue  cutter  and  taken  back  to  Virginia.  In  an 
attempt  to  rescue  him,  one  man  had  been  killed.  A 
little  before  this,  a  slave  named  Shadrach  had  been 
successfully  rescued  in  Boston,  being  snatched 
from  the  very  court-room  in  a  sudden  rush.  In 
Philadelphia,  a  man  named  Passmore  Williamson 
was  imprisoned  for  attempting  to  secure  the 
freedom  of  three  slaves  accompanying  a  North 
Carolinian,  John  H.  Wheeler,  who  had  been  ap 
pointed  to  a  foreign  mission  and  was  on  his  way 
through  that  city  to  embark  for  his  post  of  duty. 
Another  grievance  of  the  North  was  furnished  by 
the  Supreme  Court's  decision  (December  term, 


2O  THE    DRED-SCOTT    DECISION.  [1856. 

1856)  in  the  case  of  Dred  Scott,  a  negro  suing 
to  establish  the  freedom  of  himself,  his  wife,  and 
their  two  daughters.  Chief  Justice  Taney  not  only 
decided  the  point  in  issue,  that  Scott  was  not  a 
citizen  of  Missouri  and  could  not  sue,  but  went  out 
of  his  way  to  declare  also  that  a  person  of  African 
blood  could  not  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  if  he  were  a  citizen  of  a  particular  State, 
this  would  secure  him  no  privileges  in  any  other 
State ;  that,  in  short,  he  had  "  no  rights  which  the 
white  man  was  bound  to  respect."  To  the  friends 
of  liberty  it  seemed  that  the  Court  was  nullifying 
the  Constitution,  instead  of  interpreting  it. 

But  though  there  was  an  awakening  conscience 
at  the  North  on  the  subject  of  chattel  slavery  and 
its  sinfulness,  there  was  by  no  means  a  majority 
of  her  people  thus  troubled.  The  thing  that 
alarmed  the  majority  was  the  aggressive  spirit  of 
the  institution,  its  evident  determination  to  ex 
tend  itself.  Alexander  H.  Stephens  and  other 
statesmen  of  the  South  had  declared  that  if  the 
system  was  to  survive  it  must  have  more  land, 
more  slaves,  and  more  slaveholders.  More  land 
was  to  be  had  in  the  unsettled  Territories ;  more 
slaves  could  be  brought  from  Africa — were  being 
brought  already ;  and  when  the  article  was  thus 
cheapened  more  whites  could  afford  to  own  slaves 
and  would  at  once  become  bound  to  uphold  and 
perpetuate  slavery.  Thousands  at  the  North  who 
were  perfectly  willing  to  compromise  for  the  con 
tinuance  of  slavery  as  it  was,  were  roused  to  the 
point  of  resistance  when  they  contemplated  what  it 


1856.]  THE    POLITICAL    STRUGGLE.  21 

seemed  likely  to  become.  They  passed  no  sleep 
less  nights  because  the  laws  of  their  country 
doomed  millions  of  human  beings  to  perpetual 
servitude ;  but  they  were  both  vigilant  and 
valorous  when  they  saw  bounds  being  set  to  their 
own  spirit  of  enterprise  and  the  natural  expansion 
of  their  institutions  in  serious  danger. 

By  this  time  the  Democratic  party  throughout  the 
country  had  become  the  pro-slavery  party.  In  the 
Southern  States  it  was  the  only  party,  and  the 
Dred-Scott  decision  fairly  represented  its  position 
on  the  great  question  of  the  day.  In  all  the  discus 
sions-carried  on  by  its  orators  and  journalists,  there 
was  a  constant  underlying  assumption  that  the 
welfare  of  the  black  race  was  not  in  any  way  to  be 
considered,  that  it  was  purely  a  question  of  satis 
factory  adjustment  between  the  whites  of  the 
North  and  the  whites  of  the  South.  All  attempts 
to  bring  any  moral  arguments  to  bear  were  set 
aside  with  a  sneer  at  "  the  everlasting  nigger."  In 
the  South  Jefferson  Davis  had  concisely  expressed 
the  sentiment  of  his  party  when,  after  discussing 
the  slave-trade,  he  said,  "  The  interest  of  Missis 
sippi,  not  the  African,  dictates  my  conclusion,"  and 
in  the  North  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  still  more  tersely, 
when  he  declared  that  he  "  did  n't  care  whether 
slavery  was  voted  up  or  voted  down." 

The  Whig  party  had  gone  to  pieces  after  its 
disastrous  defeat  in  1852.  The  American  or 
Know-Nothing  party  was  but  a  short  episode.  The 
aggressions  of  the  slave  power  called  for  an  equally 
spirited,  if  not  equally  aggressive,  free-soil  organi- 


22  POPULAR    SOVEREIGNTY.  [1854. 

zation  at  the  North,  and  the  exigency  was  met 
by  the  formation  of  the  Republican  party  in  1854. 
The  first  battle-ground,  both  literally  and  figu 
ratively,  was  Kansas.  The  doctrine  of  Popular, 
or  Squatter,  Sovereignty,  which  had  been  broached 
as  early  as  1847,  was  definitely  set  forth  in  1854 
in  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill.  This  bill  provided 
for  the  organization  of  two  Territories  west  of 
Missouri,  repealed  the  Missouri  Compromise  as 
unconstitutional,  and  declared  that  the  people  of 
each  Territory  should  determine  for  themselves 
whether  it  should  be  slave  or  free.  The  foremost 
apostle  of  this  doctrine  was  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
who  reiterated  it  until  he  induced  a  great  many 
people  to  believe  it,  and  perhaps  believed  it  him 
self,  though  its  fallacy  was  perfectly  transparent. 
When  a  Territory  was  thrown  open  for  settle 
ment,  it  was  necessary  to  determine  at  once 
whether  it  should  be  slave  or  free.  If  it  should 
ultimately  become  free,  a  slaveholder  who  had 
taken  his  property  into  the  Territory  would  lose 
it ;  and  if  it  should  ultimately  be  dedicated  to  slavery, 
Northern  settlers  depending  upon  free  labor  would 
lose  their  investments.  To  pour  in  immigration,  and 
then  tell  the  immigrants  to  settle  the  question  for 
themselves,  was  to  make  a  bloody  struggle  inevit 
able  ;  and  this  is  what  really  took  place.  At  the 
election  in  Kansas,  vast  numbers  of  Missourians 
crossed  the  border,  took  possession  of  the  polls, 
and  elected  a  delegate  and  legislature  to  suit 
themselves.  The  free-State  settlers  repudiated 
the  delegate  and  legislature  thus  chosen,  and  chose 


1856.]  THE    WAR    IN    KANSAS.  23 

their  own.  But  Congress  admitted  the  pro-slavery 
delegate,  and  President  Pierce  sustained  the  pro- 
slavery  legislature  with  the  military  power  of  the 
United  States,  while  his  soldiers  dispersed  the  free- 
soil  legislature  and  arrested  its  officers.  Armed 
Southerners  came  even  from  South  Carolina,  and 
joined  the  "  border  ruffians,"  as  they  were  called,  in 
the  attempt  to  secure  Kansas  for  slavery.  At  the 
same  time,  organizations  were  formed  in  the  free 
States  to  assist  the  free-soil  settlers  in  that  Terri 
tory,  and  furnish  them  with  arms.  For  two  or 
three  years  (1856-59)  there  was  actual  war  in 
Kansas,  with  burning  of  houses,  sacking  of  towns, 
and  destruction  of  life.  This  bloody  drama  roused 
the  consciousness  of  many  at  the  North  whose 
consciences  had  been  appealed  to  in  vain.  It  was 
impossible  to  keep  the  subject  out  of  the  pulpit, 
and  car-loads  of  improved  rifles,  paid  for  by  popu 
lar  subscriptions,  were  sent  to  the  free-State  set 
tlers.  The  pro-slavery  press  appeared  to  be 
blind  to  the  significance  of  these  facts,  could  see 
in  the  movement  nothing  but  fanaticism,  and 
spent  its  breath  largely  in  sneering  at  "  freedom- 
shriekers,"  "nigger-worshippers,"  and  "political 
parsons." 

John  C.  Fremont,  the  first  Presidential  candi 
date  of  the  Republicans  (1856),  though  defeated, 
made  a  magnificent  canvass,  carrying  New  York 
by  80,000.  Had  he  been  elected,  the  war  would- 
probably  have  broken  out  then,  instead  of  four 
years  later.  The  men  that  were  bent  upon 
the  perpetuation  and  extension  of  slavery  at  all 


24  THE    GOLDEN    CIRCLE.  [1856. 

hazards,  seem  to  have  contemplated  secession  at 
least  as  early  as  this,  and  Calhoun  had  threatened 
it  in'the  Senate  in  1850;  but  the  election  of  Bu 
chanan — a  pro-slavery  man,  on  a  pro-slavery  plat 
form —  left  no  immediate  excuse  for  the  experi 
ment  ;  and  the  South  contained  large  numbers  of 
substantial  and  influential  people  that  were  de 
votedly  attached  to  the  Union.  Politics  had  taken 
such  shape  that  the  most  available  presidential  can 
didates,  indeed  the  only  available  ones  for  the 
Democratic  party,  were  described  as  "  Northern 
men  with  Southern  principles."  The  South,  held 
firmly  in  the  grip  of  the  banded  slave-holders,  and 
knowing  no  such  thing  as  free  discussion,  was  ab 
solutely  solid  for  any  candidate  they  might  name. 
But  to  make  sure  of  the  necessary  Northern  votes, 
they  were  obliged  to  name  a  Northern  man  ;  for 
in  the  free  States  discussion  was  now  free,  and  in 
spite  of  party  trammels  the  vice  of  political  solid 
ity  was  impossible.  To  go  on  electing  Northern 
men  with  Southern  principles  might  serve  the 
purpose  of  the  South  as  a  community,  but  it 
thwarted  the  highest  ambition  of  her  foremost  men, 
who  doubtless  were  influenced  to  some  extent,  in 
their  desire  for  a  new  confederacy,  by  the  con 
sideration  that  not  one  of  them  could  ever  be 
president  of  the  whole  country. 

David  Christy  published  his  "  Cotton  is  King" 
in  the  year  in  which  Buchanan  was  elected,  and 
the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle  appear  to  have 
organized  about  the  same  time.  The  Golden  Circle 
had  its  centre  at  Havana,  Cuba,  and  with  a  radius 


1859.]  APPROACHING    THE    CRISIS.  25 

of  sixteen  degrees  (about  1,200  miles)  its  circum 
ference  took  in  Baltimore,  St.  Louis,  about  half  of 
Mexico,  all  of  Central  America,  and  the  best  por 
tions  of  the  coast  along  the  Caribbean  Sea. 
The  project  was,  to  establish  an  empire  with  this 
circle  for  its  territory,  and  by  controlling  four 
great  staples  —  rice,  tobacco,  sugar,  and  cotton  — 
practically  govern  the  commercial  world.  Just 
how  great  a  part  this  secret  organization  played  in 
the  scheme  of  secession,  nobody  that  was  not  in 
its  counsels  can  say;  but  it  is  certain  that  it 
boasted,  probably  with  truth,  a  membership  of 
many  thousands. 

The  Kansas  troubles  went  on  during  Buchanan's 
administration,  and  that  President  continued  the 
policy  of  his  predecessor  in  lending  the  whole 
power  of  the  Government  to  the  pro-slavery  party, 
while  the  best  and  strongest  elements  in  the 
Northern  States  were  rapidly  moulding  them 
selves  into  a  compact  political  organization  for  a 
definite  and  determined  purpose.  The  day  of 
compromise  was  gone  by,  and  John  Brown's  con 
spiracy  at  Harper's  Ferry  gave  a  lurid  setting  to 
the  day  of  peace.  Thus,  in  a  country  that  boasted 
popular  government  and  the  largest  measure  of 
liberty,  the  times  were  ripened  and  the  passions 
heated  for  a  desperate  civil  war. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE     OUTBREAK. 

"  BUT  what  king,  going  to  make  war  against  another 
king,  sitteth  not  down  first  and  consulteth  whether 
he  be  able  with  ten  thousand  to  meet  him  that 
cometh  against  him  with  twenty  thousand  ?  "  This 
quotation  would  naturally  come  to  the  lips  of  the 
student  of  history  if,  knowing  that  the  population 
of  all  the  slave  States  in  1860  was  but  ten  mill 
ions,  while  that  of  the  free  States  was  twenty 
millions,  he  should  suddenly  come  upon  the  fact 
of  the  great  civil  war.  But  those  who  led  the  seces 
sion  movement,  and  most  of  their  followers, thought 
there  were  other  circumstances  to  offset  the 
discrepancy  in  numbers  and  wealth. 

They  believed  that  in  the  possession  of  the 
cotton  that  was  wanted  for  British  looms,  and 
in  their  readiness  to  adopt  a  free-trade  policy,  they 
had  a  guaranty  of  help  from  England,  if  help 
should  be  needed.  And  this  belief  was  not  with 
out  reason.  They  believed  that  Southern  soldiers 
would  be  more  than  a  match,  man  for  man,  for 
Northern  ones.  And  this  belief,  though  ridicu 
lously  exaggerated,  was  based  on  a  certain  truth, 
which  was  evident  at  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
but  disappeared  as  the  contest  proceeded.  In 


I860.]  RELIANCE    OF    THE    SECESSIONISTS.  2J 

most  instances,  the  Northern  man  had  to  learn  how 
to  manage  his  horse  and  fire  his  gun  after  he  had 
enlisted  ;  but  the  planter's  son  had  been  trained  to 
these  exercises  from  boyhood.  They  counted  also 
on  the  enormous  advantage  that  earth-works 
and  arms  of  precision  give  to  men  who  are  fighting 
on  the  defensive.  More  than  all,  perhaps,  they 
counted  on  active  assistance  in  the  heart  of  the 
North  itself  ;  and  though  this,  like  all  other  reli 
ances,  failed  them  in  the  test,  they  had  not  been 
unreasonable  in  expecting  it.  A  great  party  of 
the  North  had  for  years  voted  steadily  in  their 
interest  and  at  their  dictation ;  and  now  some  of 
its  leaders,  including  two  of  the  most  eminent, 
assured  them  of  success. 

On  January  6,  1860,  ex-President  Franklin 
Pierce  had  written  to  Jefferson  Davis  (who  had 
been  Secretary  of  War  in  his  Cabinet)  a  letter  in 
which  he  said  :  "  Without  discussing  the  question 
of  right  —  of  abstract  power  to  secede — I  have 
never  believed  that  actual  disruption  of  the  Union 
can  occur  without  blood ;  and  if  through  the 
madness  of  Northern  abolitionists  that  dire  ca 
lamity  must  come,  the  fighting  will  not  be  along 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line  merely.  It  will  be  within 
our  own  borders,  and  in  our  own  streets,  between 
the  two  classes  of  citizens  to  whom  I  have 
referred.  Those  who  defy  law  and  scout  con 
stitutional  obligations  will,  if  we  ever  reach  the 
arbitrament  of  arms,  find  occupation  enough  at 
home."  Horatio  Seymour,  in  a  speech  at 
Albany  (January  31,  1861),  said:  "It  would  be 


28  RELIANCE    OF    THE    SECESSIONISTS.  [1860. 

an  act  of  folly  and  madness,  in  entering  upon 
this  contest,  to  underrate  our  opponents,  and  thus 
subject  ourselves  to  the  disgrace  of  defeat  in  an 
inglorious  warfare.  Let  us  also  see  if  successful 
coercion  by  the  North  is  less  revolutionary  than 
successful  secession  by  the  South.  ...  In  what 
way  is  this  warfare  to  be  conducted  ?  None  have 
been  mad  enough  to  propose  to  muster  armies  to 
occupy  their  territory !  .  .  .  When  unnatural 
war  shall  have  brought  upon  our  people  its  ruin, 
and  upon  our  nation  its  shame,  to  what  ground 
shall  we  be  brought  at  last  ?  To  that  we  should 
have  accepted  at  the  outset."  A  South  Carolina 
Congressman,  when  he  read  the  account  of  the 
convention  at  which  this  speech  was  delivered, 
exclaimed:  "There  will  be  more  men  in  New 
York  alone  to  fight  for  us  than  the  whole  North 
can  put  down  ! " 

The  secessionists  relied  also,  for  an  advanta 
geous  start,  upon  the  timidity  of  President 
Buchanan  and  the  influence  that  might  be  exerted 
over  him  by  the  Southern  members  of  his  Cabinet ; 
and  in  this  at  least  their  expectations  were  fully 
met.  A  favorite  argument  was  made  by  compari 
son  with  the  War  of  Independence.  It  was  con 
stantly  said,  "  If  the  thirteen  colonies,  with  fewer 
than  three  million  inhabitants,  established  their 
independence  of  Great  Britain,  what  shall  hinder 
the  South  from  succeeding,  when  she  has  several 
times  that  number  of  people  and  so  much  greater 
resources  ?  "  This  appeared  to  have  great  popu 
lar  influence,  and  yet  it  was  the  weakest  of  all  the 


18CO.]  THE    FALLACY    OF    SECESSION.  29 

arguments  advanced,  and  is  a  good  illustration  of 
the  fallacies  that  often  sway  the  multitude.  It 
took  no  account  of  the  fact  that  in  1776  the  enemy 
had  to  come  across  a  broad  ocean,  and  steam 
power  had  not  been  thought  of,  while  now  the 
enemy  would  be  at  their  very  doors,  and  with 
steamships,  locomotives,  and  telegraphs  could 
bring  great  resources  into  rapid  action.  It  ignored 
the  timely  and  powerful  assistance  that  the  colo 
nies  had  received  from  France.  Above  all,  it  over 
looked  the  fact  that<jeorge  the  Third  could  lose 
his  American  subjects  and  still  have  an  empire 
left,  while  the  struggle  of  our  people  against  seces 
sion  was  a  question  of  national  life  or  death. 

The  strangest  thing  was,  not  that  the  secession 
ists  expected  to  succeed  in  dividing  the  country 
and  setting  up  an  independent  confederacy,  but 
that  they  ever  persuaded  themselves  and  the 
Southern  people  that  this,  even  if  it  could  be  ac 
complished  without  a  war,  would  be  a  remedy  for 
their  grievance.  If  slave  property  was  insecure 
when  the  fugitive  had  to  traverse  hundreds  of 
miles  of  United  States  territory  to  reach  Canada, 
how  much  more  insecure  it  would  have  been  with 
the  liberty-line  brought  down  to  the  very  door  of 
his  cabin,  so  that  he  would  only  have  to  step  over 
into  a  free  State  to  find  himself  safe  in  a  foreign 
country.  Abolitionists  and  incendiary  documents 
were  already  as  thoroughly  excluded  from  the 
South  as  they  ever  could  be  under  any  circum 
stances.  The  seceding  States  certainly  could  not 
expect  to  take  more  than  half  of  the  unsettled 


30  THE    FALLACY    OF   SECESSION.  [i860. 

Territories  ;  and  that  had  been  given  them  by  the 
Missouri  Compromise,  which  their  own  votes  abro 
gated.  They  might  have  gained  something  by 
adopting  a  free-trade  policy ;  but  this  would  have 
been  largely  if  not  wholly  offset  by  the  expense  of 
maintaining  a  separate  government  and  a  separate 
army  and  navy,  and  carrying  their  own  mails.  For 
the  postal  revenues  in  the  South  fell  short  of  the 
expenditures,  and  the  balance  was  made  up  by  the 
excess  at  the  North.  One  other  consideration 
was  discussed  at  the  time  ;  but  it  is  impossible  to 
say  how  much  influence  it  exerted.  Southern 
merchants  and  planters  were  in  debt  to  Northern 
manufacturers  and  jobbers  to  the  extent  of  many 
million  dollars.  No  doubt  some  of  them  were 
glad  of  an  opportunity  to  repudiate  those  debts, 
and  indeed  they  avowed  it ;  but  there  were  also 
some  that  paid  them  twice  —  first  to  the  Confed 
erate  Government,  which  called  for  them  by  an  act 
of  confiscation,  and  after  the  war  to  their  creditors. 
Doubtless  more  would  have  done  so  if  the  war  had 
not  thrown  them  into  hopeless  bankruptcy.  The 
dream  of  the  Golden  Circle  was  futile  ;  because 
such  an  empire,  if  it  could  have  been  established, 
would  have  had  no  natural  boundary,  and  this, 
especially  for  a  slaveholding  community  surrounded 
by  free  territory,  is  absolutely  indispensable. 
There  was  no  ocean,  no  chain  of  mountains,  no 
great  lakes,  not  even  a  large  river,  to  separate  the 
Confederacy  from  a  land  where  liberty  would  not 
only  be  the  lot  of  every  citizen,  but  be  extended 
also  to  the  stranger  within  the  gates.  Possibly 


I860.]  STATE    ALLEGIANCE.  3! 

the  more  sanguine  expected  to  achieve  indepen 
dence  by  victories  so  rapid  and  overwhelming  as 
to  enable  them  to  dictate  their  own  terms  to  the 
North,  the  chief  of  which  should  be  a  treaty  equiv 
alent  to  the  Fugitive-Slave  Law. 

That  secession  was  no  remedy,  was  realized  by 
large  numbers  of  the  more  thoughtful  people  of 
the  South.  This  was  acknowledged  in  Georgia 
especially,  where  -the  argument,  "We  can  make 
better  terms  out  of  the  Union  than  in  it,"  had  to 
be  used  —  the  assumption  being  that  the  separa 
tion  would  be  only  temporary.  Alexander  H. 
Stephens,  looked  upon  by  many  as  the  ablest  man 
in  that  State,  made  a  powerful  speech  against 
secession,  at  the  request  of  members  of  the  Legis 
lature,  November  14,  1860,  when  the  result  of  the 
presidential  election  was  known.  Amid  frequent 
interruptions  by  Robert  Toombs,  who  was  trying 
to  hurry  the  State  into  secession,  he  set  forth  the 
arguments  against  it  with  admirable  clearness ; 
but  he  gave  a  fatal  blow  to  the  efficacy  of  his  plea 
when  he  said  :  "  Should  Georgia  determine  to  get 
out  of  the  Union,  whatever  the  result  may  be,  I 
shall  bow  to  the  will  of  her  people.  Their  cause 
is  my  cause,  and  their  destiny  is  my  destiny  ;  and 
I  trust  this  will  be  the  ultimate  course  of  all." 
This  was  giving  notice  to  the  hot-headed  seces 
sionists  that  if  by  one  means  or  another  they  could 
drag  the  State  out  of  the  Union,  they  should  have 
him  with  it,  and  all  his  influence ;  and  he  knew 
they  were  afraid  to  submit  the  question  to  a  con 
vention  chosen  by  the  people,  for  Mr.  Toombs  had 


32  THE    ARGUMENT    FROM    HISTORY.  [1860. 

just  said  so.  If  the  prominent  men  of  the  South 
who  disapproved  of  secession,  instead  of  surren 
dering  on  the  plea  that  they  must  go  with  their 
States,  had  declared  they  would  not  go  under  any 
circumstances,  possibly  the  costly  experiment 
would  never  have  been  tried.  But  perhaps  this 
would  have  required  superhuman  courage. 

Virginia  also  was  reluctant  to  go,  and  voted 
against  secession  till  a  peculiarly  powerful  engine 
was  brought  to  bear.  No  slave  State  wanted  to 
be  a  border  State  ;  they  knew  too  well  what  the 
result  would  be,  though  the  advocates  of  secession 
appeared  to  have  a  vague  idea  that  "  taking  the 
South  out  of  the  Union  "  would  result  in  lifting 
the  land  and  carrying  it  to  some  remote  quarter  of 
the  globe.  Kentucky  refused  to  leave  the  Union, 
and  Maryland,  after  a  struggle,  was  kept  in  it. 

One  other  consideration  ought  to  have  occurred 
to  the  statesmen  of  the  South,  if  not  to  her  peo 
ple.  With  the  advance  of  civilization,  the  whole 
tendency  of  mankind  has  been,  not  toward  divis 
ion  and  segregation,  but  toward  union  and  central 
ization,  wherever  geographical  conditions  have  in 
dicated  it.  Where  once  was  the  Heptarchy  is 
now  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  ;  France 
and  Spain  each  gravitated  into  a  similar  consoli 
dation  ;  and  early  in  the  present  century  Sweden 
and  Norway  became  one  kingdom.  In  1848  the 
leagued  Swiss  Cantons  set  up  a  central  govern 
ment,  making  themselves  one  republic,  and  the 
union  between  Austria  and  Hungary  was  per 
fected.  When  our  war  of  secession  was  breaking 


I860.]  THE    QUESTION    OF   JUSTIFICATION.  33 

out,  the  principalities  of  Italy  had  just  become  one 
kingdom,  which  in  naval  power  is  now  among  the 
first  in  the  world  ;  and  since  that  time  we  have 
seen  Germany  united,  the  Canadian  provinces  or 
ganized  as  a  Federal  Dominion,  the  States  of  Cen 
tral  America  form  a  league,  and  Japan  adopt  a 
centralized  government.  Our  own  Constitution 
was  substituted  for  the  old  Articles  of  Confedera 
tion  because  our  fathers  found  it  desirable  "  to 
form  a  more  perfect  union." 

Three  things  are  necessary  for  the  complete 
moral  justification  of  war  :  a  righteous  cause,  a 
reasonable  prospect  of  military  success,  and  a  cer 
tainty  that  such  success  will  secure  a  remedy  for 
the  wrong  complained  of.  The  righteousness  of 
the  Confederate  cause  depended  upon  the  right 
eousness  of  human  bondage  ;  for  the  purpose  of 
the  war  on  the  part  of  the  secessionists  was  to 
perpetuate  and  extend  that  system.  This  was  so 
clearly  and  authoritatively  set  forth  by  Mr. 
Stephens,  Vice-President  of  the  Confederacy,  and 
others,  as  well  as  indicated  unmistakably  by  the 
whole  course  and  character  of  events,  that  no  ar 
gument  is  needed  to  prove  it,  though  some  writers 
have  set  up  the  theory  that  it  was  merely  an  ab 
stract  doctrine  for  which  a  million  men  were  placed 
under  arms  and  the  entire  wealth  of  the  South  was 
squandered.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that,  at  the 
outset,  the  war  on  the  part  of  the  secessionists 
had,  or  seemed  to  have,  the  justification  of  proba 
ble  success  ;  and  there  can  be  as  little  doubt  that 
it  lacked  the  justification  of  remedy.  The  official 


34  STATE    SOVEREIGNTY.  [i860. 

justification  for  the  attempt  at  secession  was  pre 
sented  in  the  doctrine  of  State  sovereignty — that 
every  State  in  the  Union  retained  its  sovereignty, 
and  was  at  liberty  to  withdraw  whenever  it  chose 
to  do  so.  John  C.  Calhoun  was  rather  the  devel 
oper  than  the  originator  of  this  theory.  When 
the  Federal  Constitution  was  adopted,  it  met  with 
strong  opposition,  through  State  jealousy  and  the 
reluctance  of  many  to  give  up  the  supremacy  of 
the  local  governments.  There  is  a  class  of  minds 
that  never  admit  an  unwelcome  fact,  and  Jacobitism 
may  even  become  a  matter  of  heredity.  In  the 
early  days  of  the  Republic  there  were  men  in  New 
England,  as  well  as  at  the  South,  who  clung  to  the 
sectional  and  State  idea ;  which  perhaps  only 
proves  that  a  great  government,  like  all  else  valu 
able,  must  be  a  thing  of  growth.  There  was  this 
difference,  however,  that  in  the  North  there  was 
no  serious  obstacle  to  the  gradual  adoption  of  the 
republican  idea ;  but  in  the  South  the  institution 
of  slavery  created  classes  and  a  sort  of  aristocracy, 
and  the  time  came  when  the  State-sovereignty 
idea  was  revived  and  emphasized,  because  it  was 
useful,  if  not  necessary,  to  the  perpetuation  of 
that  condition  of  things.  Calhoun  taught  it  con 
stantly,  and  his  people  believed  it  sincerely.  No 
body  denied  that  certain  rights  were  reserved  to 
the  States ;  but  Unionists  held  that  the  powers 
expressly  delegated  to  the  Federal  Government 
included  everything  that  was  essential  to  sover 
eignty,  and  that  any  interpretation  of  the  Consti 
tution  which  made  it  self-destructive  was  evidently 


[1860.  THE    PRESIDENTIAL    ELECTION.  35 

absurd  —  that  there  could  be  no  such  thing  as  a 
Constitutional  right  to  destroy  the  Constitution. 
There  seemed  to  be  .in  the  popular  mind  of  the 
South  a  confounding  of  State  rights  and  State 
sovereignty,  just  as  there  had  been  in  the  popular 
mind  of  the  North  more  or  less  confounding  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  Federal 
Constitution. 

In  the  Presidential  canvass  of  1860  the  Demo 
cratic  Convention  was  sundered  in  two  by  the 
slavery  question,  the  great  political  wedge  that  had 
split  every  thing  it  entered.  The  extreme  Southern 
wing  of  the  party,  which  wanted  that  institution 
carried  into  all  the  Territories  by  act  of  Congress, 
nominated  John  C.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky. 
The  Northern  wing,  which  relied  upon  the  principle 
of  popular  sovereignty,  nominated  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  of  Illinois.  The  Republicans  nominated 
Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  on  a  platform  de 
claring  that  Congress  should  forbid  slavery  in  the 
Territories.  The  remnant  of  the  American  party 
nominated  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  and  adopted  a 
platform  that  confined  itself  to  such  generalities 
as  "the  Constitution,  the  Union,  and  enforcement 
of  the  laws." 

As  soon  as  it  became  known  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  elected,  South  Carolina  called  a  convention  to 
consider  the  question  of  secession,  and  on  the  2oth 
of  December,  1860,  that  convention  passed  unani 
mously  an  ordinance  declaring  that  the  union 
between  South  Carolina  and  the  other  States  was 
thereby  dissolved.  Commissioners  were  sent  from 


36  SECESSION    OF    THE    COTTON    STATES.  1861.] 

this  State  to  the  other  cotton  States  to  urge  them 
to  the  same  course,  and  six  of  those  States  passed 
ordinances  of  secession  within  two  months  :  Missis 
sippi  (Jan.  9,  1861)  by  a  vote  of  84  to  15  ;  Florida 
(Jan.  10)  by  62  to  7 ;  Alabama  (Jan.  n)  by  61  to 
39;  Georgia  (Jan.  19)  by  208  to  89;  Louisiana 
(Jan.  26)  by  113  to  17;  Texas  (Feb.  i)  by  166  to 
7.  In  Texas  the  ordinance  was  submitted  to  a 
vote  of  the  people.  These  ordinances  were  quickly 
followed  by  seizures  of  the  United  States  forts, 
arsenals,  and  custom-houses  within  the  seceding 
States,  and  by  the  formation  of  a  Confederate 
Government,  with  its  capital  at  Montgomery, 
Alabama,  early  in  February,  1861  ;  Jefferson  Davis 
being  provisionally  chosen  President,  and  Alex 
ander  H.  Stephens  Vice-President.  With  very  few 
exceptions,  the  prominent  men  of  the  South,  even 
those  that  had  opposed  the  movement,  "  went  with 
their  States,"  as  they  expressed  it,  and  the 
Southern  Senators  and  Congressmen  resigned  their 
seats,  some  of  them  taking  their  leave  in  passion 
ate  and  defiant  speeches. 

The  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States  of 
America  was  a  close  copy  of  that  of  the  United 
States,  except  that  it  made  the  Presidential  term 
six  years,  with  ineligibility  for  a  second  term,  for 
bade  protective  tariffs,  and  was  not  afraid  of  the 
word  " slave."  It  specifically  declared  that  "cit 
izens  of  each  State  shall  have  the  right  of  transit 
and  sojourn  in  any  State  of  this  Confederacy, 
with  their  slaves  and  other  property  ;  and  the  right 
of  property  in  said  slaves  shall  not  be  thereby  im- 


1861.]  FORMATION    OF    THE    CONFEDERACY.  37 

paired."  It  contained  no  recognition  of  the  right 
of  secession,  and  in  its  opening  sentence  declared 
that  the  intention  was  to  "form  a  permanent 
federal  government."  In  the  most  important 
respect  of  all,  the  rights  of  States  were  more 
abridged  than  they  were  by  the  old  Constitution. 
For  any  amendment  of  the  United  States  Constitu 
tion,  a  vote  of  three  fourths  of  the  States  is  required; 
but  the  Confederate  Constitution  could  be  amended 
if  two  thirds  of  the  States  concurred.*  Either  of 
these  provisions  completely  destroys  the  presump 
tion  of  State  sovereignty  ;  for  when  sovereigns 
enter  into  a  compact,  it  can  be  changed  only  by 
unanimous  consent.  Mr.  Stephens,  in  a  speech 
at  Savannah,  March  22,  1861,  expounding  the 
new  Constitution,  said :  "  The  prevailing  ideas 
entertained  by  him  [Thomas  Jefferson]  and  most 
of  the  leading  statesmen  at  the  time  of  the  forma 
tion  of  the  old  Constitution  were,  that  the  enslave 
ment  of  the  African  was  in  violation  of  the  laws 
of  nature  ;  that  it  was  wrong  in  principle,  socially, 
morally,  and  politically.  .  .  .  Our  new  govern 
ment  is  founded  upon  exactly  the  opposite  idea. 
Its  foundations  are  laid,  its  corner-stone  rests,  upon 
the  great  truth  that  the  negro  is  not  equal  to  the 
white  man;  that  slavery,  subordination  to  the 
superior  race,  is  his  natural  and  normal  condition." 
Commissioners  were  now  sent  to  Washington, 
but  President  Buchanan  refused  to  receive  them. 

*  This  made  it  possible,  had  the  Confederacy  been  established,  for 
the  votes  of  the  cotton  States  alone  to  change  its  constitution  so 
as  to  permit  reopening  the  African  slave  trade. 


38  BUCHANAN'S  PARADOX.  [isei. 

Yet  all  his  efforts  to  stay  the  progress  of  secession 
were  paralyzed  by  the  presence  of  three  active 
secessionists  in  his  Cabinet — John  B.  Floyd,  How- 
ell  Cobb,  and  Jacob  Thompson.  Buchanan  was 
one  of  those  men  that  are  strong  enough  so  long  as 
precedents  are  not  lacking,  but  pitifully  weak  in  a 
new  emergency.  He  declared  that  States  had  no 
right  to  secede,  but  the  Constitution  conferred  no 
power  to  coerce  them.  This  curious  theory  he 
never  got  rid  of,  and  in  writing  the  history  of  his 
administration,  after  the  war,  he  says  :  "  Happily 
our  civil  war  was  undertaken  and  prosecuted  in 
self-defence,  not  to  coerce  a  State,  but  to  enforce 
the  execution  of  the  laws  within  the  States  against 
individuals,  and  to  suppress  an  unjust  rebellion 
raised  by  a  conspiracy  among  them  against  the 
Government  of  the  United  States." 

Major  Robert  Anderson,  commanding  the  garri 
son  of  Fort  Moultrie,  Charleston  harbor,  seeing 
that  he  could  not  hold  it  against  the  forces  that 
were  being  gathered  for  its  capture,  on  Christmas 
night,  1860,  secretly  abandoned  it  and  took  posi 
tion  in  the  stronger  Fort  Sumter.  His  men  were 
few,  and  his  stock  of  provisions  was  small.  The 
new  authorities  at  Charleston  complained  of  this 
movement  as  being  virtually  the  violation  of  a 
truce,  and  requested  the  Government  at  Washing 
ton  to  order  him  back  to  Moultrie,  which  was  re 
fused.  For  some  time  he  was  permitted  to  receive 
his  mail  as  usual,  and  to  buy  provisions  regularly 
in  the  Charleston  market.  All  this  time  the  Con 
federate  forces,  commanded  by  General  G.  T. 


1861.] 


THE    SITUATION    AT    SUMTER. 


39 


Beauregard,  were  erecting  batteries  for  the  demo 
lition  of  Fort  Sumter ;  and  yet,  whenever  any 
Southern  officers  or  citizens  chose  to  visit  it,  An 
derson  received  them  cordially,  allowed  them  to 


inspect  all  his  arrangements  for  defence,  and  ac 
cepted  their  invitations  to  dinner.  His  unaccount 
able  conduct  was  explained  years  afterward,  when 
a  letter  written  by  him  at  that  time  was  brought  to 
light  in  the  Confederate  archives,  in  which  he  said  : 
"  I  tell  you  frankly,  my  heart  is  not  in  this  war." 
He  was  a  Kentuckian,  and  it  has  been  conjectured 
that  he  was  only  waiting  to  see  whether  his  State 
would  go  out  of  the  Union. 

At  last  the  privileges  of  communication  were 
withdrawn  by  the  Confederate  authorities,  and 
surrender  of  the  fort  demanded.  The  question  of 
reenforcing  and  provisioning  the  beleaguered  garri- 


40  THE   BOMBARDMENT.  [1861. 

son  then  arose,  and  on  this  President  Buchanan's 
Cabinet  was  hopelessly  divided  and  went  to  pieces. 
The  steamer  "  Star  of  the  West "  was  sent  in 
January,  1861,  with  provisions  and  troops,  but 
before  she  could  reach  the  fort  she  was  driven  off 
by  the  fire  of  Confederate  batteries.  Buchanan 
made  no  further  effort  to  assert  the  power  and  dig 
nity  of  the  government  that  had  been  entrusted  to 
him,  but  only  looked  anxiously  for  the  close  of  his 
term.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  inaugurated  on  the  4th 
of  March,  and  early  in  April  gave  orders  that  a 
fleet  be  sent  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Sumter.  There 
upon  its  surrender  was  again  demanded,  and  when 
this  was  refused  the  Confederate  batteries  opened 
fire  upon  it,  April  12.  The  fire  was  returned  as 
long  as  the  guns  of  the  fort  were  serviceable,  and 
the  great  artillery  duel  was  kept  up  for  two  days  ; 
but  the  red-hot  shot  burned  the  buildings  inside 
of  the  fort,  its  walls  were  crumbling  under  the 
blows  of  heavy  rifled  projectiles,  and  the  garri 
son  at  length  surrendered,  being  permitted  to 
march  out  with  the  honors  of  war,  Sunday  morn 
ing,  April  14.  Not  a  man  within  the  fort  was 
injured  by  the  hostile  fire,  and  it  was  also  re 
ported  officially  that  the  assailants  had  met  with 
no  loss.  But  the  flame  of  civil  war  was  kindled, 
the  North  understood  at  last  that  the  South  was 
in  deadly  earnest,  and  the  sections  rushed  to  a 
conflict  in  which  at  least  eight  thousand  million 
dollars  were  wasted,  American  commerce  disap 
peared  from  every  sea,  and  half  a  million  citizens 
of  the  Republic  perished. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    BEGINNING   OF    BLOODSHED. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S  inaugural  address  was  one  of 
the  ablest  state  papers  recorded  in  American  his 
tory.  It  argued  the  question  of  secession  in  all  its 
aspects  —  the  Constitutional  right,  the  reality  of 
the  grievance,  the  sufficiency  of  the  remedy  —  and 
so  far  as  law  and  logic  went  it  left  the  seces 
sionists  little  or  nothing  to  stand  on.  But  nei 
ther  law  nor  logic  could  change  in  a  single  day 
the  pre-determined  purpose  of  a  powerful  com 
bination,  or  allay  the  passions  that  had  been 
roused  by  years  of  resentful  debate.  Some  of  its 
sentences  read  like  maxims  for  statesmen.  ''The 
central  idea  of  secession  is  the  essence  of  anarchy." 
"  Can  aliens  make  treaties  easier  than  friends  can 
make  laws  ? "  "  Why  should  there  not  be  a 
patient  confidence  in  the  ultimate  justice  of  the 
people  ?  Is  there  any  better  or  equal  hope  in  the 
world  ?  "  With  all  its  conciliatory  messages  it 
expressed  a  firm  and  unalterable  purpose  to  main 
tain  the  Union  at  every  hazard.  "  I  consider,"  he 
said,  "  that,  in  view  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
laws,  the  Union  is  unbroken,  and  to  the  extent  of 
my  ability  I  shall  take  care,  as  the  Constitution 
itself  expressly  enjoins  upon  me,  that  the  laws  of 
the  Union  be  faithfully  executed  in  all  the  States. 


42  LINCOLN  S    INAUGURAL    ADDRESS.  [1861. 

Doing  this  I  deem  to  be  only  a  simple  duty  on 
my  part  ;  and  I  shall  perform  it,  so  far  as  practic 
able,  unless  my  rightful  masters,  the  American 
people,  shall  withhold  the  requisite  means,  or  in 
some  authoritative  manner  direct  the  contrary." 
And  in  closing  he  said  :  "  In  your  hands,  my  dis 
satisfied  fellow-countrymen,  and  not  in  mine,  is 
the  momentous  issue  of  civil  war.  The  Govern 
ment  will  not  assail  you.  You  can  have  no  con 
flict  without  being  yourselves  the  aggressors.  You 
have  no  oath  registered  in  heaven  to  destroy  the 
Government,  while  I  have  the  most  solemn  one 

to  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  it We  are 

not  enemies,  but  friends.  We  must  not  be 
enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  strained,  it 
must  not  break  our  bonds  of  affection.  The  mystic 
cords  of  memory,  stretching  from  every  battlefield 
and  patriot  grave  to  every  living  heart  and  hearth 
stone  all  over  this  broad  land,  will  yet  swell  the 
chorus  of  the  Union  when  again  touched,  as  surely 
they  will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature." 

No  such  address  had  ever  come  from  the  lips  of 
a  President  before.  Pierce  and  Buchanan  had 
scolded  the  abolitionists  like  partisans  ;  Lincoln 
talked  to  the  secessionists  like  a  brother.  The 
loyal  people  throughout  the  country  received  the 
address  with  satisfaction.  The  secessionists  bitterly 
denounced  it.  Overlooking  all  its  pacific  declara 
tions,  and  keeping  out  of  sight  the  fact  that  a 
majority  of  the  Congress  just  chosen  was  politically 
opposed  to  the  President,  they  appealed  to  the 
Southern  people  to  say  whether  they  would  "  sub- 


1861.]  THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    VIRGINIA.  43 

mit  to  abolition  rule,"  and  whether  they  were 
going  to  look  on  and  "  see  gallant  little  South 
Carolina  crushed  under  the  heel  of  despotism." 

In  spite  of  all  such  appeals,  there  was  still  a 
strong  Union  sentiment  at  the  South.  Seven 
slave  States  had  gone  out,  but  eight  remained,  and 
the  anxiety  of  the  secessionists  was  to  secure  these 
at  once,  or  most  of  them,  before  the  excitement 
cooled.  The  great  prize  was  Virginia,  both  because 
of  her  own  power  and  resources,  and  because  her 
accession  to  the  Confederacy  would  necessarily 
bring  North  Carolina  also.  Her  Governor,  John 
Letcher,  professed  to  be  a  Unionist  ;  but  his  con 
duct  after  the  ordinance  of  secession  had  been 
passed  appears  to  prove  that  this  profession  was 
insincere.  In  electing  delegates  to  a  convention 
to  consider  the  question  of  secession,  the  Union 
ists  cast  a  majority  of  sixty  thousand  votes  ; 
and  on  the  4th  of  April,  when  President  Lincoln 
had  been  in  office  a  month,  that  convention  re 
fused,  by  a  vote  of  89  to  45,  to  pass  an  ordi 
nance  of  secession.  The  leading  revolutionists  of 
the  cotton  States  were  becoming  uneasy.  Said 
Mr.  Gilchrist,  of  Alabama,  to  the  Confederate 
Secretary  of  War,  "You  must  sprinkle  blood  in 
the  faces  of  the  people  !  If  you  delay  two  months, 
Alabama  stays  in  the  Union  ! "  Hence  the  attack 
on  Fort  Sumter,  out  of  which  the  garrison  were  in 
peril  of  being  driven  by  starvation.  This  certainly 
had  a  great  popular  effect  in  the  South  as  well  as 
in  the  North  ;  but  Virginia's  choice  appears  to  have 
been  determined  by  a  measure  that  was  less 


44  THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    VIRGINIA.  [1861. 

spectacular  and  more  coldly  significant.  The  Con 
federate  Constitution  provided  that  Congress 
should  have  the  power  to  "prohibit  the  intro 
duction  of  slaves  from  any  State  not  a  member  of, 
or  Territory  not  belonging  to,  this  Confederacy," 
and  at  the  time  when  Virginia's  fate  was  in  the 
balance  it  was  reported  that  such  an  act  had  been 
passed  by  the  Congress  at  Montgomery.*  When 
Virginia  heard  this,  like  the  young  man  in  Scrip 
ture,  she  went  away  sorrowful ;  for  in  that  line  of 
trade  she  had  great  possessions.  The  cultivation 
of  land  by  slave  labor  had  long  since  ceased  to  be 
profitable  in  the  border  States — or  at  least  it  was 
far  less  profitable  than  raising  slaves  for  the  cotton 
States,  and  the  acquisition  of  new  territory  in 
Texas  had  enormously  increased  the  demand. 
The  greatest  part  of  this  business  (sometimes 
estimated  as  high  as  one  half)  was  Virginia's.  It 
was  called  "  the  vigintal  crop,"  as  the  blacks  were 
ready  for  market  and  at  their  highest  value  about 
the  age  of  twenty.  As  it  was  an  ordinary 
business  of  bargain  and  sale,  no  statistics  were 
kept ;  but  the  lowest  estimate  of  the  annual  value 

*  It  is  now  impossible  to  prove  positively  that  such  a  law  was  actually 
passed  ;  for  the  officially  printed  volume  of  "Statutes  at  Large  of  the 
Provisional  Government  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America  "  (Richmond, 
1861)  was  evidently  mutilated  before  being  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
compositor.  The  Acts  are  numbered,  but  here  and  there  numbers  are 
missing,  and  in  some  of  the  later  Acts  there  are  allusions  to  previous  Acts 
that  cannot  be  found  in  the  book.  It  is  known  that  on  the  6th  of  March, 
1861,  the  Judiciary  Committee  was  instructed  to  inquire  into  the  expediency 
of  such  prohibition,  and  it  seems  a  fair  conjecture  that  one  of  the  missing 
numbers  was  an  Act  of  this  character.  In  a  later  edition  (1864)  the- 
numbering  is  made  consecutive,  but  the  missing  matter  is  not  restored. 


1861.]  HER    SLAVE    TRADE.  45 

of  the  trade  in  the  Old  Dominion  placed  it  in  the 
tens  of  millions  of  dollars.  President  Dew,  of 
William  and  Mary  College,  in  his  celebrated 
pamphlet,  wrote  :  "  Virginia  is,  in  fact,  a  negro- 
raising  State  for  other  States."  The  New  York 
"Journal  of  Commerce"  of  October  12,  1835, 
contained  a  letter  from  a  Virginian  (vouched  for 
by  the  editor)  in  which  it  was  asserted  that  20,- 
ooo  slaves  had  been  driven  south  from  that  State 
that  year.  In  1836  the  Wheeling  (Va.)  "  Times" 
estimated  the  number  of  slaves  exported  from  that 
State  during  the  preceding  year  at  40,000,  valued 
at  $24,000,000.  The  Baltimore  "Register"  in 
1846  said  :  "  Dealing  in  slaves  has  become  a  large 
business ;  establishments  are  made  in  several 
places  in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  at  which  they  are 
sold  like  cattle."  The  Richmond  "  Examiner  " 
before  the  war  said :  "  Upon  an  inside  estimate, 
they  [the  slaves  of  Virginia]  yield  in  gross  surplus 
produce,  from  sales  of  negroes  to  go  south,  $10,- 
000,000."  In  the  United  States  Senate,  just 
before  the  war,  Hon.  Alfred  Iverson,  of  Georgia, 
replying  to  Mr.  Powell,  of  Virginia,  said  Virginia 
was  deeply  interested  in  secession  ;  for  if  the 
cotton  States  seceded,  Virginia  would  find  no 
market  for  her  slaves,  without  which  that  State 
would  be  ruined. 

After  Sumter  had  been  fired  on,  and  the  Con 
federate  Congress  had  forbidden  this  traffic  to  out 
siders,  the  Virginia  Convention  again  took  up  the 
ordinance  of  secession  (April  1 7)  and  passed  it  in 
secret  session  by  a  vote  of  88  to  55.  It  was  not 


46  VIRGINIA    DRAGOONED. 


[1861. 


to  take  effect  till  approved  by  the  people  ;  but  the 
day  fixed  for  their  voting  upon  it  was  six  weeks 
distant,  the  last  Thursday  in  May.  Long  before 
that  date,  Governor  Letcher,  without  waiting  for 
the  verdict  of  the  people,  turned  over  the  entire 
military  force  and  equipment  of  the  State  to  the 
Confederate  authorities,  and  the  seat  of  the  Con 
federate  Government  was  removed  from  Mont 
gomery  to  Richmond.  David  G.  Farragut,  after 
ward  the  famous  Admiral,  who  was  in  Norfolk, 
Virginia,  at  the  time,  anxiously  watching  the 
course  of  events,  declared  that  the  State  "  had 
been  dragooned  out  of  the  Union,"  and  he  refused 
to  be  dragooned  with  her.  But  Robert  E.  Lee 
and  other  prominent  Virginians  resigned  their 
commissions  in  the  United  States  service  to  enter 
that  of  their  States  or  of  the  Confederacy,  and  the 
soil  of  Virginia  was  overrun  by  soldiers  from  the 
cotton  States.  Any  other  result  than  a  vote  for 
secession  was  therefore  impossible.  Arkansas  fol 
lowed  with  a  similar  ordinance  on  the  6th  of  May, 
and  North  Carolina  on  the  2ist,  neither  being 
submitted  to  a  popular  vote.  Kentucky  refused  to 
secede.  For  Tennessee  and  Missouri  there  was  a 
prolonged  struggle. 

When  Fort  Sumter  was  surrendered,  the  Con 
federates  had  already  acquired  possession  of  Castle 
Pinckney  and  Fort  Moultrie  in  Charleston  harbor, 
Fort  Pulaski  at  Savannah,  Fort  Morgan  at  the 
entrance  of  Mobile  Bay,  Forts  Jackson  and  St. 
Philip  below  New  Orleans,  the  navy-yard  and 
Forts  McRae  and  Barrancas  at  Pensacola,  the 


1861.]  THE    FIRST   CALL    FOR    TROOPS.  47 

arsenals  at  Mount  Vernon,  Ala.,  and  Little  Rock, 
Ark.,  and  the  New  Orleans  Mint.  The  largest 
force  of  United  States  regulars  was  that  in  Texas, 
under  command  of  General  David  E.  Twiggs,  who 
surrendered  it  in  February,  and  turned  over  to  the 
insurgents  $1,250,000  worth  of  military  property. 

On  the  day  when  Sumter  fell,  President  Lincoln 
penned  a  proclamation,  issued  the  next  day  (Mon 
day,  April  15),  which  declared  "that  the  laws  of 
the  United  States  have  been  for  some  time  past, 
and  now  are,  opposed,  and  the  execution  thereof 
obstructed,  in  the  States  of  South  Carolina,  Geor 
gia,  Alabama,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and 
Texas,  by  combinations  too  powerful  to  be  sup 
pressed  by  the  ordinary  course  of  judicial  proceed 
ings  or  by  the  powers  vested  in  the  marshals  by 
law,"  and  called  for  militia  from  the  several  States 
of  the  Union  to  the  number  of  seventy-five  thou 
sand.  It  also  called  a  special  session  of  Congress, 
to  convene  on  July  4.  He  appealed  "to  all  loyal 
citizens  to  favor,  facilitate,  and  aid  this  effort  to 
maintain  the  honor,  the  integrity,  and  existence  of 
our  National  Union,  and  the  perpetuity  of  popu 
lar  government,  and  to  redress  wrongs  already 
long  enough  endured." 

Mr.  Lincoln's  faith  in  the  people  had  always 
been  strong ;  but  the  response  to  this  proclama 
tion  was  probably  a  surprise  even  to  him,  as  it 
certainly  was  to  the  secessionists,  who  had  assured 
the  Southern  people  that  the  Yankees  would  not 
fight.  The  whole  North  was  thrilled  with  military 
ardor,  and  moved  almost  as  one  man.  The  national 


48  THE    AWAKENING    OF    THE    NORTH.  [1861. 

flag  was  thrown  to  the  breeze  from  nearly  every 
court-house,  school-house,  college,  hotel,  engine- 
house,  railway-station,  and  public  building,  from 
the  spires  of  many  churches,  and  from  the  win 
dows  of  innumerable  private  residences.  The  fife 
and  drum  were  heard  in  the  streets,  and  recruit 
ing-offices  were  opened  in  vacant  stores  or  in 
tents  hastily  pitched  in  the  public  squares.  All 
sorts  and  conditions  of  men  left  their  business  and 
stepped  into  the  ranks,  and  in  a  few  days  the  Gov 
ernment  was  offered  several  times  as  many  troops  as 
had  been  called  for.  Boys  of  fifteen  sat  down  and 
wept  because  they  were  not  permitted  to  go,  but 
here  and  there  one  dried  his  tears  when  he  was 
told  that  he  might  be  a  drummer  or  an  officer's 
servant.  Attentions  between  young  people  were 
suddenly  ripened  into  engagements,  and  engage 
ments  of  long  date  were  hastily  finished  in  mar 
riages  ;  for  the  boys  were  going,  and  the  girls 
were  proud  to  have  them  go,  and  wanted  to 
send  them  off  in  good  spirits.  Everybody  seemed 
anxious  to  put  forth  some  expression  of  loyalty 
to  the  national  government  and  the  starry  flag. 
School-girls  wrote  their  letters  on  white  paper 
and  used  red  and  blue  ink  for  the  alternate  lines  ; 
while  their  mothers  made  "  Havelocks  "  for  the 
soldiers — a  sort  of  cape  attachment  to  a  cap,  to  pre 
vent  sunstroke  in  a  hot  climate.  A  considerable 
percentage  of  the  letters  that  passed  through  the 
mails  bore  patriotic  devices  on  the  envelopes.  The 
designs  were  numberless,  and  collections  of  them 
are  now  looked  upon  as  curiosities.  A  favorite  one 


1861.]    MAP    SHOWING    AREA   OF    THE    CONFEDERACY.    49 


5O  THE    AWAKENING    OF    THE    NORTH.  [1861. 

represented  a  young  blue-jacket,  with  curly  hair 
streaming  in  the  wind,  and  rolling  clouds  about 
him,  clinging  by  his  legs  and  his  left  hand  to  the 
topmast,  while  with  a  hammer  in  his  right  he  nailed 
the  colors  to  the  mast-head.  Beneath  was  the 
legend,  "  If  any  man  tries  to  haul  down  the  Amer 
ican  flag,  shoot  him  on  the  spot !"-— which  was  a 
famous  despatch  sent  by  General  John  A.  Dix, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  the  last  days  of 
Buchanan's  administration,  to  a  customs  officer  at 
New  Orleans.  The  foremost  American  magazine 
of  that  day  removed  the  portrait  of  a  colonial  gov 
ernor  that  it  had  borne  on  its  cover  from  the  be 
ginning,  and  displayed  the  stars  and  stripes  in  its 
place ;  and  many  newspapers  put  a  flag  at  the 
head  of  their  columns  and  kept  it  there.  The 
papers  were  lively  with  great  head-lines  and  dou 
ble-leaded  editorials  ;  and  the  local  poet  filled  the 
spare  space — when  there  was  any — with  his  glow 
ing  patriotic  effusions.  The  closing  passage  of 
Longfellow's  "  Building  of  the  Ship,"  written  a 
dozen  years  before,  beginning  :— 

"  Thou,  too,  sail  on,  O  Ship  of  State ! 
Sail  on,  O  Union  strong  and  great ! 
Humanity  with  all  its  fears, 
With  all  the  hopes  of  future  years, 
Is  hanging  breathless  on  thy  fate  !  " 

was  in  constant  demand,  and  was  recited  effect 
ively  by  nearly  every  orator  that  addressed  a  war- 
meeting. 

Eminent  men  of  all  parties  and  all  professions 
spoke  out  for  the  Union.      Stephen  A.  Douglas, 


1861.]  THE    AWAKENING   OF    THE   NORTH.  51 

who  had  long  been  Lincoln's  rival  and  had  op 
posed  the  policy  of  coercion,  went  to  the  White 
House  the  day  before  Sumter  fell,  had  a  long  inter 
view  with  the  President,  and  promised  a  hearty 
support  of  the  Administration,  which  was  immedi 
ately  telegraphed  over  the  country  and  had  a  pow 
erful  effect.  Ex-President  Pierce  (who  had  made 
the  direful  prediction  of  blood  in  Northern  streets), 
ex-President  Buchanan  (who  had  failed  to  find  any 
authority  for  coercion),  General  Lewis  Cass  (a 
Democratic  partisan  since  the  war  of  1812),  Arch 
bishop  Hughes  (the  highest  dignitary  of  the  Rom 
an  Catholic  Church  in  America),  and  numerous 
others,  all  "  came  out  for  the  Union, "as  the  phrase 
went.  The  greater  portion  of  the  Democratic  par 
ty,  which  had  opposed  Lincoln's  election,  also, 
as  individuals,  sustained  the  Administration  in  its 
determination  not  to  permit  a  division  of  the  coun 
try.  These  were  known  as  "war  Democrats," 
while  those  that  opposed  and  reviled  the  govern 
ment  were  called  "  Copperheads,"  in  allusion  to  the 
snake  of  that  name.  Some  of  the  bolder  ones  at 
tempted  to  take  the  edge  off  the  sarcasm  by  cut 
ting  the  head  of  Liberty  out  of  a  copper  cent  and 
wearing  it  as  a  scarf-pin  ;  but  all  they  could  say 
was  quickly  drowned  in  the  general  clamor. 

Town  halls,  school-houses,  academies,  and  even 
churches,  were  turned  into  temporary  barracks. 
Village  greens  and  city  squares  were  occupied 
every  day  by  platoons  of  men,  most  of  them  not 
yet  uniformed,  marching  and  wheeling  and  counter 
marching,  and  being  drilled  in  the  manual  of  arms 


52  RIOT    IN    BALTIMORE.  [1861. 

by  officers  that  knew  just  a  little  more  than  they 
did,  by  virtue  of  having  bought  a  handbook  of 
tactics  the  day  before,  and  sat  up  all  night  to 
study  it.  There  was  great  scarcity  of  arms.  One 
regiment  were  looking  dubiously  at  some  ancient 
muskets  that  had  just  been  placed  in  their  hands, 
when  the  Colonel  came  up  and  with  grim  humor 
assured  them  that  he  had  seen  those  weapons  used 
in  the  Mexican  war,  and  more  men  were  killed  in 
front  of  them  than  behind  them.  The  boys  had 
great  respect  for  the  Colonel,  but  they  wanted  to 
be  excused  from  believing  his  story. 

In  many  of  the  Northern  cities  small  organiza 
tions  of  uniformed  militia  had  been  kept  up  for 
years,  and  many  of  them  were  exceedingly  well 
drilled  and  fairly  armed.  New  interest  had  been 
awakened  in  militia  service  only  the  year  before 
(1860),  when  a  young  man  named  Ephraim  E. 
Ellsworth,  who  had  drilled  a  Chicago  company  to 
perfection  in  the  zouave  tactics,  exhibited  their 
skill  in  most  of  the  large  cities.  The  uniformed 
militia  was  first  ready  to  respond  to  the  President's 
proclamation,  and  within  two  days  the  Sixth  Massa 
chusetts,  Colonel  Edward  F.  Jones,wason  its  way  to 
Washington.  On  the  igth  (the  anniversary  of  the 
battle  of  Lexington)  it  arrived  at  Baltimore,  where 
trouble  was  expected  and  trouble  came.  An  im 
mense  mob  of  secessionists  that  had  hooted  and 
stoned  an  unarmed  Pennsylvania  regiment  passing 
through  the  city  the  previous  evening  now  col 
lected  again  in  greater  force  and  with  deadlier  pur 
pose.  A  part  of  the  regiment  had  been  taken 


1861.]  THE    FIRST    BLOODSHED.  53 

across  the  city  in  detached  cars,  when  the  track 
was  obstructed,  and  the  last  four  companies  at 
tempted  to  march  across.  They  encountered  a 
riotous  procession  that  was  following  a  secession 
flag ;  the  crowd  closed  in  around  them  ;  such  epi 
thets  as  "  abolitionists,"  "  nigger-thieves,"  and 
"  black  Republicans,"  were  freely  hurled  at  them 
and  emphasized  with  paving-stones  ;  pistol-shots 
were  fired  from  windows  and  from  the  side-walk  ; 
several  soldiers  were  struck,  and  at  length  orders 
were  given  to  fire  into  the  mob,  when  many  of  the 
rioters  fell.  The  Mayor  of  the  city  pushed  through 
the  crowd,  and  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
column,  hoping  that  his  presence  would  be  some 
protection.  But  the  rioters  still  pressed  hard  upon 
the  little  band  of  soldiers,  and  the  Mayor  seized  a 
musket  and  shot  one  of  the  foremost.  Soon  after 
ward  half  a  hundred  policemen  with  drawn  re 
volvers  were  interposed  between  the  mob  and  the 
soldiers,  who  made  the  remainder  of  the  march 
without  serious  difficulty. 

The  bodies  of  three  militiamen  that  had  been 
killed  were  sent  home  to  their  native  State  and 
deposited  in  the  little  hillside  cemeteries — the  first 
of  a  long  procession  of  young  men  destined  within 
the  next  four  years  to  lay  down  their  lives  for  their 
country.  It  was  a  coincidence  that  in  the  last  war 
with  Great  Britain  (i8i2-'i5)  the  first  bloodshed 
had  been  in  this  same  city  of  Baltimore,  and  was 
also  the  work  of  a  mob. 

The  New  York  Seventh  Regiment,  Colonel 
Marshall  Lefferts,  and  the  Massachusetts  Eighth, 


54  A    WEEK    OF    DISASTERS.  U861. 

General  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  followed  close  after  the 
Sixth  in  the  march  to  the  national  capital ;  but  they 
went  by  way  of  Annapolis,  avoiding  Baltimore  by 
request  of  the  State  and  municipal  authorities. 
Indeed,  the  chief  of  police,  immediately  after  the 
riot,  had  burned  the  bridges  north  and  east  of  the 
city,  so  that  no  more  troops  could  come  through. 

This  affair  intensified  the  excitement  and  the 
patriotic  determination  at  the  North.  A  monster 
meeting  was  held  in  New  York  city,  and  a  Union 
Defence  Committee  was  appointed  to  facilitate  the 
equipment  of  troops  and  the  furnishing  of  ships 
and  money.  The  effect  in  Maryland  was  to  in 
crease  the  disunion  feeling  and  create  a  tremendous 
excitement.  Arms  were  sent  from  Richmond  to 
the  secessionists  of  that  State,  and  for  a  time  it 
seemed  probable  that  she  would  be  lost  to  the 
Union,  and  Washington  be  surrounded  by  the 
territory  of  the  enemy. 

Meanwhile  the  Virginia  troops  were  moving  to 
capture  the  United  States  arsenal  at  Harper's 
Ferry  and  the  Gosport  navy-yard.  The  com 
mandants  of  both  set  the  buildings  on  fire  and 
attempted  to  destroy  the  machinery  and  other 
property,  to  prevent  it  from  falling  into  the  hands 
of  the  Confederates,  but  only  partially  succeeded. 
The  loss  at  the  navy-yard,  in  ships  and  material, 
was  enormous.  All  these  disasters — Sumter,  Bal 
timore,  the  secession  of  Virginia,  Harper's  Ferry, 
Gosport — had  occurred  within  one  week,  April 
12-20;  but  the  Administration,  though  cut  off 
from  communication  with  the  friendly  North,  was 


1861.]  TROOPS    POURING    INTO  WASHINGTON.  55 

not  appalled.  The  various  departments  of  the 
Government  went  on  regularly  with  their  duties, 
and  the  veteran  General  Winfield  Scott,  who  had 
been  through  two  or  three  wars,  and  fourteen 
years  before  had  dictated  terms  of  peace  in  the 
capital  of  Mexico,  made  the  best  possible  dispo 
sitions,  with  the  force  at  his  command,  for  the 
defence  of  Washington. 

Troops  in  abundance  were  soon  pouring  into 
the  city,  till  the  authorities  hardly  knew  what  to 
do  with  them,  and  they  hardly  knew  what  to  do 
with  themselves.  They  slept  on  the  floors  of  the 
Government  buildings  by  night,  and  swarmed 
everywhere  by  day.  A  regiment  of  zouaves, 
recruited  from  the  New  York  fire  department 
and  commanded  by  Ellsworth,  amused  them 
selves  and  astonished  the  citizens  by  scaling  the 
walls  of  the  Capitol,  running  along  the  cornices 
and  water-tables,  and  clambering  from  window  to 
window.  To  outward  appearance  the  affair  was 
one  vast  picnic,  and  few  seemed  to  realize  that 
desperate  and  bloody  work  was  to  come. 

On  the  24th  of  May,  in  the  night,  four  regi 
ments  crossed  the  Potomac  and  took  possession  of 
Arlington  Heights,  which  commanded  Washing 
ton,  and  from  which  shells  might  have  been  thrown 
into  the  White  House.  This  was  called  the  first 
invasion  of  "the  sacred  soil  of  Virginia" — an 
expression  that  became  a  by-word.  One  regi 
ment,  Ellsworth's,  went  by  way  of  Alexandria, 
where  a  secession  flag  had  long  been  flying  over 
the  principal  hotel.  Ellsworth  himself,  accom- 


56  BATTLE    OF    BIG    BETHEL.  [1861. 

panied  by  two  soldiers,  went  to  the  top  of  the 
house,  tore  down  the  flag,  and  was  returning  to 
the  street  with  it,  when  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel 
suddenly  appeared  with  a  shotgun  and  killed  him 
on  the  stairs.  The  next  instant  the  proprietor 
himself  was  shot  dead  by  the  foremost  soldier. 
This  incident  produced  another  shock  at  the 
North,  and  woke  the  people  a  little  more  to  the 
grim  realities  of  war.  Ellsworth's  picture  was 
displayed  everywhere,  eulogies  were  pronounced 
upon  him,  and  special  regiments  were  recruited  in 
his  name  and  dedicated  themselves  to  the  work 
of  avenging  his  death. 

In  little  more  than  a  fortnight  the  loss  was 
duplicated  in  the  death  of  another  of  the  notable 
young  men  that  had  rushed  to  arms.  Theodore 
Winthrop,  a  writer  of  considerable  achievement 
and  great  promise,  had  accompanied  the  New 
York  Seventh  Regiment  to  Washington,  and  pub 
lished  an  account  of  the  march  that  attracted  uni 
versal  attention.  Afterward  he  went  to  Fort 
Monroe,  on  the  staff  of  General  Butler.  In  an 
ill-planned  expedition  against  a  secession  force  at 
Big  Bethel  (June  10),  both  he  and  Lieutenant 
John  T.  Greble,  a  young  West-Pointer,  were 
killed.  It  was  typical  of  the  chances  of  war  that 
Winthrop,  the  scholar  and  literary  genius,  in  the 
prime  of  manhood,  was  said  to  have  been  shot  by 
a  drummer-boy  from  North  Carolina,  then  the 
most  illiterate  State  in  the  Union. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    FIRST    BATTLE    OF    BULL    RUN. 

THE  seventy-five  thousand  troops  called  for  in 
President  Lincoln's  proclamation  of  April  i5th, 
were  three-months  men^  On  the  3rd  of  May,  1861, 
he  issued  another  proclamation,  calling  for  forty-two 
thousand  volunteers  for  three  years,  and  authoriz 
ing  the  raising  of  ten  new  regiments  for  the 
regular  army.  He  also  called  for  eighteen  thou 
sand  volunteer  seamen  for  the  navy.  The  ports 
of  the  Southern  coasts  had  been  already  (April 
i gth)  declared  in  a  state  of  blockade,  and  it  was 
not  only  desirable  but  absolutely  necessary  to 
make  the  blockade  effectual.  The  Confederate 
Government  had  issued  letters  of  marque  for 
privateers  almost  from  the  first  ;  and  its  Congress 
had  authorized  the  raising  of  an  army  of  one  hun 
dred  thousand  volunteers  for  one  yearL 

When  Congress  convened  on  the  4th  of  July^ 
President  Lincoln  asked  for  four  hundred  thou 
sand  men  and  $400,000,000,  to  suppress  the  in 
surrection  ;  and  in  response  he  was  authorized  to 
call  for  five  hundred  thousand  men  and  spend 
$500,000,000.  What  he  had  already  done  was 
approved  and  declared  valid;  and  on  the  I5th  of 
July  the  House  of  Representatives,  with  but  five 
dissenting  votes,  passed  a  resolution  (introduced 


58  ON    TO    RICHMOND.  [1861. 

by  John  A.  McClernand,  a  Democrat)  pledging 
any  amount  of  money  and  any  number  of  men  that 
might  be  necessary  to  restore  the  authority  of  the 
National  Government^ 

The  seat  of  the  Confederate  Government  was 
removed  from  Montgomery,  Alabama,  to  Rich 
mond,  Virginia,  on  the  2Oth  of  May,  anticipating 
by  a  few  days  the  vote  of  the  people  of  Virginia 
on  the  question  whether  the  State  should  leave  the 
Union  !  For  a  long  time  volunteers  were  pouring 
into  Washington  at  the  rate  of  four  thousand  a 
day  ;  and  after  a  while  the  press  and  people  began 
to  talk  of  these  raw  levies  as  an  army,  and  to 
wonder  why  they  were  not  immediately  precipita 
ted  upon  the  enemy.  To  the  objection  that  they 
were  green  and  unskilled  in  the  art  of  war,  it  was 
answered  that  the  Confederates  were  equally  green 
and  unskilled.  To  most  people  this  consideration 
seemed  perfectly  satisfactory ;  they  did  not  take 
into  account  the  fact  that  it  devolved  upon  the 
National  forces  to  take  the  offensive,  and  an  army 
marching  into  hostile  territory  must  have  acquired 
considerable  discipline  in  order  to  be  able  to  keep 
together,  act  together,  and  meet  the  contingencies 
of  war.  So  arose  a  popular  demand  for  imme 
diate  action,  which  was  represented  by  the  catch 
word  "  On  to  Richmond  ! "  echoed  through  the 
newspapers.  General  Scott  was  opposed  to  under 
taking  any  large  offensive  movement  with  the 
three-months  men.  He  thought  they  should  only 
be  used  to  protect  Washington,  keep  Maryland 
from  seceding,  and  carry  on  some  operations  that 


1861.J  THE    POSITION    AT    BULL    RUN.  59 

had  been  begun  around  Harper's  Ferry  and  in 
western  Virginia.  But  other  than  strictly  military 
circumstances  had  to  be  considered,  and  a  campaign 
toward  Richmond  was  determined  upon. 

A  Confederate  army,  commanded  by  General 
G.  T.  Beauregardj  had  been  sent  to  occupy 
Manassas  Junction,  which  was  important  as  the 
railroad  centre  of  northern  Virginia.  Seeing  that 
it  was  much  easier  to  hold  the  natural  line  of 
defence  formed  by  Bull  Run  than  to  construct  earth 
works  around  the  Junction,  he  had  moved  for 
ward  to  that  stream  and  posted  his  troops  at  the 
various  fords  between  the  Alexandria  Railroad  and 
the  Warrenton  Turnpike,  thus  occupying  a  line 
eight  miles  long,  facing  toward  Washington.  He 
had  about  twenty-two  thousand  men.^  Harper's 
Ferry  had  been  occupied  by  a  Confederate  force 
under  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  who  had 
destroyed  the  works  and  retired  to  Winchester  on 
the  approach  of  a  superior  force  of  National  troops 
under  General  Robert  Patterson. 

General  Scott's  plan  was,  to  launch  an  army 
against  Beauregard,  turn  his  right  flank,  seize  the 
railroads  in  rear  of  his  position,  and  defeat  him. 
It  was  all-important  that  Johnston's  army  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  about  nine  thousand  men, 
should  not  be  permitted  to  go  to  the  assistance 
of  Beauregard  ;  and  General  Patterson  had  strict 
orders  to  prevent  such  a  movement,  either  by 
getting  between  the  two  or  by  closely  following 
and  attacking  Johnston.  The  immediate  command 
was  intrusted  to  General  Irvin  McDowell,  then 


60  SPIES    IN   WASHINGTON.  [1861. 

forty-three  years  of  age,  who  was  a  graduate  of 
West  Point  and  had  seen  service  in  the  Mexican 
war.  When  the  rebellion  began  he  was  a  major 
in  the  regular  army,  and  in  May  he  had  been 
commissioned  brigadier-general  and  placed  in  com 
mand  of  the  newly-formed  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
He  was  unquestionably  a  good  soldier  and  a  skil 
ful  officer.  The  National  Government  labored 
under  a  serious  disadvantage  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  war,  which  was  never  wholly  done 
away  with  in  the  entire  four  years  of  the  struggle. 
Washington  was  full  of  spies  and  secession 
sympathizers,  some  of  whom  were  well  known, 
while  others  never  could  be  detected.  They 
swarmed  in  the  Departments,  and  contrived  to 
know  every  thing  that  was  going  on.  Many  of 
them  had  lived  for  years  on  salaries  paid  by  the 
Government  they  were  trying  to  destroy.  Scarcely 
a  movement  of  any  kind  could  be  planned  but  the 
Confederate  authorities  and  commanders  were  at 
once  apprised  of  it.  Beauregard  and  Johnston 
knew  what  to  expect,  and  prepared  for  it. 

McDowell's  army  moved  on  the  i6th  of  July. 
It  was  in  five  divisions  commanded  by  Generals 
Tyler,  Hunter,  Heintzelman,  Runyon,  and  Miles. 
Among  the  brigade  commanders  that  afterward 
rose  to  eminence  were  William  T.  Sherman, 
Ambrose  E.  Burnside,  Erastus  D.  Keyes,  and 
Oliver  O.  Howard.  The  total  force  was  some 
what  over  thirty-four  thousand  men  ;  but  Runyon's 
division  was  left  to  guard  the  line  of  communi 
cation  with  Washington,  and  the  number  that 


1861.] 


STRENGTH    OF    THE    ARMIES. 


6l 


actually  moved  against  the  enemy  was  about 
twenty-eight  thousand  with  forty-nine  guns  and  a 
battalion  of  cavalry. 

So  little  did  strict  military  discipline  as  yet  enter 
into  the  policy  of    the  Government  that  a  large 


number  of  civilians,  including  several  members  of 
Congress,  obtained  passes  enabling  them  to  ride 
out  in  carriages,  close  in  the  rear  of  the  army,  to 
witness  the  expected  battle.  A  passage  from  the 
published  journal  of  one  of  these,  Hon.  Alfred 
Ely,  is  suggestive.  He  had  called  on  General 
Scott,  to  obtain  a  pass  for  a  carriage-load  of 
civilians.  "  I  inquired  how  many  men  General 
Beauregard  had  at  Manassas.  He  replied,  about 
thirty-eight  thousand,  not  to  exceed  forty  thousand, 
and  that  General  McDowell's  plans  and  move 
ments  had  been  talked  over  with  him  and  well 
considered.  On  being  asked  how  many  troops  we 
had,  he  gave  me  this  significant  reply  :  '  Enough. 
General  McDowell  will  win."  One  member  of 


62  ACTION    AT    BLACKBURN'S    FORD. 

Congress,  John  A.  Logan,  of  Illinois,  who  had 
seen  service  in  the  Mexican  war,  left  his  seat  in 
the  Capitol,  overtook  the  army,  shouldered  a 
musket,  and  participated  in  the  battle. 

The  troops  marched  by  the  Warrenton  turnpike, 
and  found  themselves  in  the  presence  of  the 
enemy  on  the  banks  of  Bull  Run  on  the  iSth. 
This  was  doing  pretty  well  for  green  soldiers, 
though  McDowell  afterward  testified  his  disgust 
at  their  want  of  respect  for  orders,  and  their  habit 
of  stopping  when  they  pleased,  to  get  water  or 
pick  berries.  The  enemy's  outposts  had  fallen 
back  as  the  army  advanced,  and  the  first  serious 
opposition  was  met  at  Blackburn's  Ford.  Tyler 
had  been  ordered  forward  to  make  a  reconnois- 
sance,  with  instructions  not  to  bring  on  a  battle,  as 
it  was  only  intended  to  make  a  feint  against  that 
part  of  Beauregard's  line,  the  real  attack  to  be  on 
the  south  or  right  wing.  But  he  exceeded  his 
orders,  carried  on  a  brisk  artillery  duel  across  the 
stream,  brought  up  first  a  regiment  and  then  a 
brigade  to  support  his  battery,  became  engaged 
with  the  enemy's  infantry,  and  finally  retired  after 
about  sixty  men  on  each  side  had  been  killed  or 
wounded.  The  troops  opposed  to  him  were  com 
manded  by  General  James  Longstreet,  and  both 
his  force  and  Tyler's  were  somewhat  broken  up. 

McDowell,  finding  that  Beauregard  was  very 
strongly  intrenched  on  his  right,  and  that  the 
roads  in  that  direction  were  not  good,  changed  his 
plan  and  determined  to  attack  on  the  north  or  left 
wing.  Another  reason  for  doing  this  lay  in  the 


1861.]  JOHNSTON    JOINS    BEAUREGARD.  63 

fact  that  McDowell  had  distrusted  Patterson  from 
the  first,  having  no  faith  that  he  would  hold  John 
ston,  and  he  had  declared  at  the  outset  that  he 
could  not,  with  his  present  force,  defeat  the  com 
bined  armies  of  Beauregard  and  Johnston.  Scott's 
confident  promise  that  "if  Johnston  joined  Beau- 
regard  he  should  have  Patterson  on  his  heels,"  had 
not  fully  reassured  him,  and  he  now  planned,  by 
striking  the  enemy's  left  flank  and  turning  it,  to 
push  forward  and  seize  a  point  on  the  Manassas 
Gap  railroad,  which  would  enable  him  to  prevent 
such  a  junction  of  the  enemy's  forces.  At  the 
same  time  Beauregard  was  planning  a  movement 
with  his  right  to  turn  McDowell's  left,  and  was 
afraid  Patterson  would  join  him  before  the  move 
ment  could  be  executed.  The  action  at  Black 
burn's  Ford  had  been  fought  on  Thursday.  Fri 
day  and  Saturday  were  consumed  in  reconnois- 
sances  and  searching  for  a  suitable  ford  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  stream,  where  a  column  could 
cross  and,  marching  down  on  the  right  bank, 
uncover  the  fords  held  by  the  enemy  and  enable 
the  remainder  of  the  army  to  cross.  Such  a  ford 
was  found  at  length,  and  on  Sunday  morning,  the 
2ist,  the  army  was  put  in  motion.  McDowell  did 
not  know  that  Johnston  had  easily  eluded  Patter 
son  and  with  two  fifths  of  his  forces  joined  Beau- 
regard  on  Saturday. 

A  remark  in  Johnston's  "  Narrative,"  taken  in 
connection  with  an  incident  of  Butler's  march  to 
Washington  three  months  before,  strikingly  illus 
trates  the  difference  in  the  material  of  which  the 


64  A   CONTRAST    IN    MEN.  [1861. 

two  armies  were  composed.  Johnston  says: 
"  Enough  of  the  cars,  sent  down  in  the  morning  to 
convey  about  two  regiments,  were  brought  back 
before  midnight ;  but  the  conductors  and  engi 
neers  disappeared  immediately,  to  pass  the  night 
probably  in  sleep  instead  of  on  the  road.  And  it 
was  not  until  seven  or  eight  o'clock  Saturday 
morning  that  the  trains  could  be  put  in  motion, 
carrying  the  Fourth  Alabama  and  the  Second 
Mississippi  regiment,  with  two  companies  of  the 
Eleventh.  General  Bee  and  myself  accompanied 
these  troops."  When  Butler's  force  was  marching 
from  Annapolis  to  Washington,  repairing  the 
railroad  as  it  went,  a  locomotive  was  found  over 
turned  in  a  ditch.  The  commanding  officer 
expressed  a  desire  to  know  whether  it  could  be 
placed  on  the  track  again  and  repaired.  "  Well," 
said  one  of  a  group  of  soldiers  that  had  been 
examining  it,  "  I  built  her,  and  I  guess  I  can  fix 
her."  No  train  intended  for  the  transportation  of 
National  troops  would  ever  have  stood  still  for 
want  of  engineers  and  conductors. 

While  a  part  of  McDowell's  force  marched  di 
rectly  along  the  turnpike  to  the  stone  bridge,  a 
heavy  column  turned  to  the  right  and  crossed 
the  stream  at  Sudley  Ford,  two  and  a  half  miles 
above.  This  column  came  down  upon  the  Con 
federate  left  and  began  the  fighting.  Concerning 
many  of  the  particulars  of  what  took  place  there 
after,  there  is  dispute  among  those  who  should 
know  best ;  but  the  essential  facts  are  well  estab 
lished.  The  Confederate  commanders  had  actu- 


1861.]  THE    BATTLE    OF    BULL    RUN.  65 

ally  ordered  a  forward  movement  of  their  own 
right  wing  ;  but  as  they  saw  the  development  of 
McDowell's  plan  they  recalled  that,  and  gradually 
strengthened  their  left  to  meet  the  onset.  Hun 
ter's  attack,  as  his  columns  came  down  the  road 
from  Sudley  Ford,  was  conducted  with  great  skill 
and  bravery,  and  was  met  with  equal  courage  and 
skill.  Hunter  himself  was  wounded  by  a  fragment 
of  shell,  and  had  to  leave  the  field,  his  command 
then  devolving  on  Andrew  Porter.  The  brigades 
of  Sherman  and  Keyes,  which  had  struck  the  stream 
at  the  stone  bridge,  found  it  fordable  half  a  mile 
above,  crossed  there,  and  took  part  in  the  conflict. 
The  battle-ground  was  a  plateau,  wooded  and  bro 
ken,  crossed  by  a  small  stream  that  flowed  into 
Bull  Run.  The  enemy  was  steadily  driven  back 
for  nearly  a  mile,  but  only  retired  step  by  step, 
and  the  fighting  was  constant  and  destructive. 
Every  field-officer  of  the  Fourth  Alabama  regiment 
was  shot  down,  leaving  it  without  a  commander. 
General  Bernard  E.  Bee,  of  South  Carolina,  who 
was  killed  later  in  the  day,  rallied  his  wavering 
men  by  appealing  to  them  to  follow  the  example 
of  Jackson's  brigade,  "  standing  there  like  a  stone 
wall" — which  gave  General  Thomas  J.  Jackson  the 
name  by  which  he  has  since  been  known. 

As  the  Confederate  line  fell  back,  it  gained 
higher  and  more  defensive  ground,  and  also  re 
ceived  accessions  from  the  right  wing..  At  the  same 
time,  the  National  army  as  it  advanced  became 
separated  and  fought  in  detachments.  Batteries 
were  thrown  forward,  ambushed  by  sharp-shooters, 


66  THE    BATTLE    OF    BULL    RUN.  P«. 

taken,  retaken,  and  lost  again.  The  commander 
of  one  of  them,  James  B.  Ricketts,  lay  wounded 
under  the  guns  while  the  fighting  was  going  on 
above  him  and  the  battery  changed  hands  three 
times.  It  is  said  that  Capt.  Charles  Griffin's  battery 
was  surprised  by  the  sudden  apparition  of  a  regi 
ment  marching  down  upon  it  from  the  right,  as 
openly  and  regularly  as  if  on  parade.  The  guns 
were  loaded  with  grape  and  canister,  and  could 
have  annihilated  the  regiment,  but  Major  William 
F.  Barry,  chief  of  artillery,  thought  it  was  the 
National  regiment  supporting  the  battery,  and 
ordered  the  gunners  not  to  fire.  Griffin  rode 
forward  to  ascertain  the  truth,  but  learned  it  too 
late.  It  was  a  Confederate  regiment,  and  when 
it  suddenly  levelled  its  muskets  and  fired  at  point- 
blank  range,  the  battery  was  completely  disabled 
in  an  instant,  and  the  surviving  horses  went  dash 
ing  wildly  down  the  hill  with  the  caissons.  John 
ston  says  :  "  If  the  tactics  of  the  Federals  had  been 
equal  to  their  strategy,  we  should  have  been  beaten. 
If,  instead  of  being  brought  into  action  in  detail,  their 
troops  had  been  formed  in  two  lines  with  a  proper 
reserve,  and  had  assailed  Bee  and  Jackson  in  that 
order,  the  two  Southern  brigades  must  have  been 
swept  from  the  field  in  a  few  minutes,  or  enveloped.'' 
The  better  ground  held  by  the  Confederates, 
and  the  concentration  of  their  troops,  were  already 
beginning  to  tell  in  their  favor,  when  five  thousand 
more  of  Johnston's  men,  brought  to  the  Junction  on 
the  railroad,  were  hurried  to  the  field  and  sent 
around  to  the  left  to  form  at  right  angles  to  the 


1861.]  THE    BATTLE    OF    BULL    RUN.  67 

National  right  and  fall  upon  it.  This  movement 
was  executed  promptly,  about  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  and  was  completely  successful.  The 
National  right  became  broken  and  confused,  and 
retreated  in  disorder.  A  panic  arose,  and  the  re 
treat  became  a  rout,  and  the  rout  a  race  for  Wash 
ington.  Arms  and  accoutrements  were  thrown 
away,  drivers  of  army  wagons  cut  the  traces,  leaped 
upon  the  backs  of  the  horses,  and  rode  through 
the  crowd  of  fugitives,  and  guns  and  trains  were 
abandoned.  Portions  of  the  army,  however,  main 
tained  their  organization,  and  partly  successful  at 
tempts  were  made  to  stop  the  flight.  The  Con 
federates  had  but  little  cavalry,  and  were  in  no 
condition  to  pursue.  There  was  a  black-horse 
regiment  from  Louisiana  that  undertook  it,  but 
came  upon  the  New  York  Fire  Zouaves,  and  in  a 
bloody  fight  lost  heavily.  On  the  other  side  Jef 
ferson  Davis,  riding  to  the  field  half  an  hour  after 
the  battle,  saw  such  a  stream  of  Confeder 
ate  fugitives  that  he  supposed  the  day  had  gone 
against  them.  "  Battles  are  not  won,"  he  remarked, 
"  where  two  or  three  unhurt  men  are  seen  leading 
away  one  that  is  wounded."  Nevertheless,  in  that 
instance  the  battle  had  been  won  by  an  army  whose 
rear  presented  exactly  that  appearance.  General 
Grant  remarks  that  a  position  among  the  stragglers 
and  fugitives  in  the  rear  of  an  army  is  not  a  very 
good  place  to  learn  what  is  going  on  at  the  front. 
The  loss  of  the  Confederates  was  about  one  thou 
sand  nine  hundred;  that  of  the  Nationals  about  one 
thousand  five  hundred  in  killed  and  wounded,  and 


68  THE    BATTLE    OF    BULL    RUN.  [1861. 

about  as  many  more  in  prisoners.  Among  the 
officers  killed  were  General  Bee  and  Colonel  Bartow 
on  one  side,  and  Colonel  Cameron,  of  the  New 
York  Highland  regiment,  on  the  other.  He  was 
a  brother  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  Simon  Came 
ron.  Among  the  prisoners  taken  to  Richmond 
were  many  of  the  civilians  that  had  come  out  in 
carriages  to  witness  the  contest,  including  the 
Hon.  Alfred  Ely,  member  of  Congress.  Colonel 
Corcoran,  of  the  New  York  6gih,  was  a  prisoner. 
A  few  of  the  abandoned  guns  were  brought  off  the 
next  night  ;  but  most  of  the  arms,  ammunition, 
and  supplies  left  on  the  field  and  in  the  roads 
were  secured  by  the  Confederates,  who  remained 
in  possession  of  the  battle-field  for  weeks. 

General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  in  many  respects 
the  best  witness  that  has  spoken  on  the  Southern 
side,  says  :  "  All  the  military  conditions,  we  knew, 
forbade  an  attempt  on  Washington.  The  Confed 
erate  army  was  more  disorganized  by  victory  than 
that  of  the  United  States  by  defeat.  The  South 
ern  volunteers  believed  that  the  objects  of  the  war 
had  been  accomplished  by  their  victory,  and  that 
they  had  achieved  all  their  country  required  of 
them.  Many,  therefore,  in  ignorance  of  their 
military  obligations,  left  the  army — not  to  return. 
.  .  .  Exaggerated  ideas  of  the  victory,  prevail 
ing  among  our  troops,  cost  us  more  than  the  Fed 
eral  army  lost  by  defeat."  In  writing  this  passage, 
General  Johnston  probably  took  no  account  of  the 
effect  produced  in  Europe.  The  early  narratives 
sent  there,  in  which  the  panic  of  retreat  was  made 


1861.]  THE    EFFECT   IN    EUROPE.  69 

the  principal  figure,  gave  the  impression  that 
the  result  arose  from  constitutional  cowardice  in 
Northern  men  and  invincible  courage  in  Southern 
ers.  They  also  gave  the  impression  that  the 
Confederates  were  altogether  superior  in  general 
ship  ;  and  the  effect  was  deep  and  long-endur 
ing.  The  most  notable  of  these  was  by  a  corre 
spondent  of  the  London  "  Times,"  who  had  appar 
ently  been  sent  across  the  Atlantic  for  the  express 
purpose  of  writing  down  the  Republic,  writing  up 
the  South,  and  enlisting  the  sympathies  of  Eng 
lishmen  for  the  rebellion.  In  his  second  letter 
from  Charleston  (April  3Oth,  1861)  he  had  written 
that  men  of  all  classes  in  South  Carolina  declared 
to  him,  "  If  we  could  only  get  one  of  the  royal 
race  of  England  to  rule  over  us,  we  should  be  con 
tent."  "The  New  Englander  must  have  something 
to  persecute  ;  and  as  he  has  hunted  down  all  his 
Indians,  burnt  all  his  witches,  persecuted  all  his 
opponents  to  the  death,  he  invented  abolitionism 
as  the  sole  resource  left  to  him  for  the  gratification 
of  his  favorite  passion.  Next  to  this  motive  prin 
ciple  is  his  desire  to  make  money  dishonestly, 
trickily,  meanly,  and  shabbily.  He  has  acted  on 
it  in  all  his  relations  with  the  South,  and  has 
cheated  and  plundered  her  in  all  his  dealings,  by 
villainous  tariffs."  Many  an  Englishman,  counting 
his  worthless  Confederate  bonds,  and  trying  to 
hope  that  he  will  yet  receive  something  for  them, 
knows  he  would  never  have  made  that  investment 
but  for  such  writing  as  this  and  the  accounts  from 
the  same  pen  of  the  battle  of  Bull  Run. 


7O  THE    EFFECT    NORTH    AND    SOUTH.  L1861. 

At  the  North,  the  spectacle  of  McDowell's  army 
streaming  back  in  disorder  to  the  National  capital 
produced  first  a  shock  of  surprise^  then  a  sense  of 
disgrace,  and  then  a  calm  determination  to  begin 
the  war  over  again.  It  was  well  expressed  by  a 
Methodist  minister  at  a  camp-meeting  in  Illinois, 
the  Rev.  Henry  Cox.  The  news  of  the  battle  came 
while  he  was  preaching,  and  he  closed  his  sermon 
with  the  words  :  "  Brethren,  we'd  better  adjourn 
this  camp-meeting,  and  go  home  and  drill." 

The  effect  of  this  over-discussed  battle  upon  the 
more  confident  and  boastful  of  the  Southerners 
was  perhaps  fairly  expressed  by  an  editorial  utter 
ance  of  one  of  their  journals,  the  Louisville,  Ky., 
"  Courier"  :  "  As  our  Norman  kinsmen  in  England, 
always  a  minority,  have  ruled  their  Saxon  country 
men  in  political  vassalage  up  to  the  present  day, 
so  have  we,  the  '  slave  oligarchs,'  governed  the  Yan 
kees  till  within  a  twelve-month.  We  framed  the 
Constitution,  for  seventy  years  molded  the  policy 
of  the  government,  and  placed  our  own  men,  or 
'  Northern  men  with  Southern  principles,'  in  power. 
On  the  6th  of  November,  1860,  the  Puritans  eman 
cipated  themselves,  and  are  now  in  violent  insur 
rection  against  their  former  owners.  This  insane 
holiday  freak  will  not  last  long,  however ;  for, 
dastards  in  fight  and  incapable  of  self-government, 
they  will  inevitably  again  fall  under  the  control  of 
a  superior  race.  A  few  more  Bull  Run  thrashings 
will  bring  them  once  more  under  the  yoke,  as  docile 
as  the  most  loyal  of  our  Ethiopian  chattels." 


CHAPTER  V. 

BORDER  STATES  AND  FOREIGN  RELATIONS. 

THE  disposition  of  the  border  slave  States  was  one 
of  the  most  difficult  problems  with  which  the  Gov 
ernment  had  to  deal.  When  the  President  issued 
his  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  men,  the  Gover 
nors  of  Missouri,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  as 
well  as  those  of  North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  re 
turned  positive  refusals.  The  Governor  of  Mis 
souri  answered,  "  It  is  illegal,  unconstitutional,  rev 
olutionary,  inhuman,  diabolical,  and  cannot  be 
complied  with."  The  Governor  of  Kentucky  said  : 
"  Kentucky  will  furnish  no  troops  for  the  wicked 
purpose  of  subduing  her  sister  Southern  States." 
The  Governor  of  Tennessee :  "  Tennessee  will  not 
furnish  a  single  man  for  coercion,  but  fifty  thou 
sand,  if  necessary,  for  the  defence  of  our  rights  and 
those  of  our  brethren."  The  Governor  of  North 
Carolina  :  "  I  can  be  no  party  to  this  wicked  viola 
tion  of  the  laws  of  the  country,  and  to  this  war 
upon  the  liberties  of  a  free  people.  You  can  get 
no  troops  from  North  Carolina."  The  Governor 
of  Virginia  :  "The  militia  of  Virginia  will  not  be 
furnished  to  the  powers  at  Washington  for  any  such 
use  or  purpose  as  they  have  in  view."  Every  one 
of  these  Governors  was  a  secessionist,  with  a  strong 
and  aggressive  party  at  his  back  ;  and  yet  in  each 


72  THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    MISSOURI.  [1861. 

of  these  States  the  secessionists  were  in  a  minority. 
It  was  a  serious  matter  to  increase  the  hostility 
that  beset  the  National  arms  on  what  in  another 
war  would  have  been  called  neutral  ground,  and  it 
was  also  a  serious  matter  to  leave  the  Union  ele 
ment  in  the  Northernmost  slave  States  without  a 
powerful  support  and  protection.  The  problem 
was  worked  out  differently  in  each  of  the  States. 

At  the  winter  session  of  the  Missouri  Legisla 
ture  an  act  had  been  passed  that  placed  the  city  of 
St.  Louis  under  the  control  of  Police  Commission 
ers  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor,  Claiborne  F. 
Jackson.  Four  of  his  appointees  were  secession 
ists,  and  three  of  these  were  leaders  of  bodies  of 
"  minute-men,"  half-secret  armed  organizations. 
The  Mayor  of  the  city,  who  was  also  one  of  the 
Commissioners,  was  known  as  a  "  conditional 
Union  man."  Other  acts  showed  plainly  the  bent 
of  the  Legislature.  One  made  it  treason  to  speak 
agaist  the  authority  of  the  Governor,  and  gave 
him  enlarged  powers,  while  another  appropriated 
$3,000,000  for  military  purposes,  taking  the  entire 
school  fund  for  the  year,  and  the  accumulations 
that  were  to  have  paid  the  July  interest  on  the 
public  debt. 

A  State  convention  called  to  consider  the  ques 
tion  of  secession  met  in  February,  and  proved  to 
be  overwhelmingly  in  favor  of  Missouri's  remaining 
in  the  Union,  though  it  also  expressed  a  general 
sympathy  with  slavery,  assumed  that  the  South 
had  wrongs,  deprecated  the  employment  of  military 
force  on  either  side,  and  repeated  the  suggestion 


1861.]  THE    STRUGGLE    FOR  MISSOURI.  73 

that  had  been  made  many  times  in  other  quarters 
for  a  national  convention  to  amend  the  Constitu 
tion  so  as  to  satisfy  everybody.  The  State  con 
vention  made  its  report  in  March,  and  adjourned 
till  December. 

This  proceeding  appeared  to  be  a  great  disap 
pointment  to  Governor  Jackson  ;  but  he  failed  to 
take  from  it  any  hint  to  give  up  his  purpose  of  get 
ting  the  State  out  of  the  Union.  On  the  contrary, 
he  proceeded  to  try  what  he  could  do  with  the 
powers  at  his  command.  He  called  an  extra  ses 
sion  of  the  Legislature,  to  convene  May  2cl,  for 
the  purpose  of  "  adopting  measures  to  place  the 
State  in  a  proper  attitude  of  defence/'  and  he  called 
out  the  militia  on  the  3d  of  May,  to  go  into  en 
campment  for  six  days.  There  was  a  large  store  of 
arms  (more  than  twenty  thousand  stand)  in  the 
St.  Louis  arsenal  ;  but  while  he  was  devising  a 
method  and  a  pretext  for  seizing  them,  the  greater 
part  of  them  were  suddenly  removed,  by  order 
from  Washington,  to  Springfield,  Illinois.  The 
captain  that  had  them  in  charge  took  them  on  a 
steamer  to  Alton,  and  there  called  the  citizens 
together  by  ringing  a  fire-alarm,  told  them  what  he 
had,  and  asked  their  assistance  in  transferring  the 
cargo  to  a  train  for  Springfield,  as  he  expected 
pursuit  by  a  force  of  secessionists.  The  many 
hands  that  make  light  work  were  not  wanting,  and 
the  train  very  soon  rolled  away  with  its  precious 
freight.  The  Governor  applied  to  the  Confeder 
ate  Government  for  assistance,  and  a  quantity  of 
arms  and  ammunition,  including  several  field-guns, 


74  CAPTURE    OF    CAMP    JACKSON.  [1861. 

was  sent  to  him  in  boxes  marked  "  marble."  He 
also  ordered  a  General  of  the  State  militia  to  estab 
lish  a  camp  of  instruction  near  the  city,  and  gath 
ered  there  such  volunteer  companies  as  were  organ 
ized  and  armed. 

General  Scott  had  anticipated  all  this  by  send 
ing  reinforcements  to  the  little  company  that  held 
the  arsenal,  and  with  them  Captain  Nathaniel 
Lyon,  of  the  regular  army,  a  man  that  lacked  no 
element  of  skill,  courage,  or  patriotism  necessary 
for  the  crisis.  The  force  was  also  increased  by 
several  regiments  of  loyal  home  guards,  organized 
mainly  by  the  exertions  of  Francis  P.  Blair,  Jr., 
and  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
When  the  character  and  purpose  of  the  force  that 
was  being  concentrated  by  Jackson  became  suffi 
ciently  evident — -from  the  fact  that  the  streets  in 
the  camp  were  named  for  prominent  Confederate 
leaders,  and  other  indications —  Lyon  determined 
upon  prompt  and  decisive  action.  This  was  the 
more  important  since  the  United  States  arsenal  at 
Liberty  had  been  robbed,  and  secession  troops 
were  being  drilled  at  St.  Joseph.  With  a  battalion 
of  regulars  and  six  regiments  of  the  home  guard, 
he  marched  out  in  the  afternoon  of  May  loth,  sur 
rounded  the  camp,  and  trained  six  pieces  of  artillery 
on  it,  and  then  demanded  an  immediate  surrender, 
with  no  terms  but  a  promise  of  proper  treatment 
as  prisoners  of  war.  The  astonished  commander, 
a  recreant  West-Pointer,  surrendered  promptly ; 
and  he  and  his  brigade  were  disarmed  and  taken 
into  the  city.  All  the  "  marble  "  that  had  come  up 


1861.]  LYON    IN    COM 

from  Baton  Rouge  and  been  hauled  out  to  the 
camp  only  two  days  before  was  captured  and  re 
moved  to  the  arsenal,  becoming  once  more  the 
property  of  the  United  States. 

The  outward  march  had  attracted  attention, 
crowds  had  gathered  on  the  route,  and  when  Lyon's 
command  were  returning  with  their  prisoners  they 
had  to  pass  through  a  throng  of  people,  among 
whom  were  not  a  few  that  were  striving  to  create 
a  riot.  The  outbreak  came  at  length  ;  stones  wrere 
thrown  at  the  troops  and  pistol-shots  fired  into  the 
ranks,  when  one  regiment  levelled  their  muskets 
and  poured  a  volley  or  two  into  the  crowd.  Three 
or  four  soldiers  and  about  twenty  citizens  were 
killed  in  this  beginning  of  the  conflict  at  the  West. 
William  T.  Sherman  (the  now  famous  General), 
walking  out  with  his  little  son  that  afternoon, 
found  himself  for  the  first  time  under  fire,  and  lay 
down  in  a  gully  while  the  bullets  cut  the  twigs  of 
the  trees  above  him. 

Two  days  later,  General  William  S.  Harney 
arrived  in  St.  Louis  and  assumed  command  of  the 
United  States  forces.  He  was  a  veteran  of  long 
experience  ;  but  ex-Governor  Sterling  Price,  com 
manding  the  State  forces,  entrapped  him  into  a 
truce  that  tied  his  hands,  while  it  left  Jackson  and 
Price  practically  at  liberty  to  pursue  their  plans  for 
secession.  Thereupon  the  Government  removed 
him,  repudiated  the  truce,  and  gave  the  command 
to  Lyon,  now  made  a  Brigadier-General.  After  an 
interview  with  Lyon  in  St.  Louis  (June  u),  in 
which -they  found  it  impossible  to  deceive  or  swerve 


76  ACTION    AT    BOONEVILLE.  [1861. 

him,  Price  and  Jackson  went  to  the  capital,  Jeffer 
son  City,  burning  railway  bridges  behind  them, 
and  the  Governor  immediately  issued  a  proclama 
tion  declaring  that  the  State  had  been  invaded  by 
United  States  forces,  and  calling  out  fifty  thousand 
of  the  militia  to  repel  the  invasion.  Its  closing 
passage  is  a  fair  specimen  of  many  proclamations 
and  appeals  that  were  issued  that  spring  and  sum 
mer  :  "  Your  first  allegiance  is  due  to  your  own 
State,  and  you  are  under  no  obligation  whatever 
to  obey  the  unconstitutional  edicts  of  the  military 
despotism  which  has  introduced  itself  at  Washing 
ton,  nor  submit  to  the  infamous  and  degrading 
sway  of  its  wicked  minions  in  this  State.  No  brave- 
hearted  Missourian  will  obey  the  one  or  submit  to 
the  other.  Rise,  then,  and  drive  out  ignominiously 
the  invaders  who  have  dared  to  desecrate  the  soil 
which  your  labors  have  made  fruitful  and  which  is 
consecrated  by  your  homes." 

The  very  next  day  Lyon  had  an  expedition  in 
motion,  which  reached  Jefferson  City  on. the  I5th, 
took  possession  of  the  place,  and  raised  the  Na 
tional  flag  over  the  Capitol.  At  his  approach  the 
Governor  fled,  carrying  with  him  the  great  seal  of 
the  State.  Learning  that  he  was  with  Price, 
gathering  a  force  at  Booneville,  fifty  miles  farther 
up  Missouri  River,  Lyon  at  once  reembarked  the 
greater  part  of  his  command,  arrived  at  Booneville 
on  the  morning  of  the  I7th,  fought  and  routed  the 
force  there,  and  captured  their  guns  and  supplies. 
The  Governor  was  now  a  mere  fugitive  ;  and  the 
State  convention,  assembling  again  in  July,  de- 


1861.]  ACTION    AT    CARTHAGE.  77 

clared  the  State  offices  vacant,  nullified  the  seces 
sion  work  of  the  Legislature,  and  made  Hamilton 
R.  Gamble,  a  Union  man,  provisional  Governor. 
Among  the  citizens  whose  prompt  personal  efforts 
were  conspicuous  on  the  Union  side  were  John  M. 
Schofield  and  Francis  P.  Blair,  Jr.  (afterward  Gen 
erals),  B.  Gratz  Brown  (afterward  candidate  for 
Vice-President),  Rev.  Galusha  Anderson  (after 
ward  President  of  Chicago  University),  William 
McPherson,  and  Clinton  B.  Fisk  (afterward  founder 
of  Fisk  University  at  Nashville). 

The  puzzling  part  of  the  difficulty  in  Missouri 
was  now  over,  for  the  contest  was  well  defined. 
Most  of  the  people  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
State,  and  most  of  the  population  of  St.  Louis 
(especially  the  Germans),  were  loyal  to  the  Na 
tional  Government  ;  but  the  secessionists  were 
strong  in  its  southern  part,  where  Price  succeeded 
in  organizing  a  considerable  force,  which  was 
joined  by  men  from  Arkansas  and  Texas,  under 
Generals  Ben.  McCulloch  and  Gideon  J.  Pillow. 
General  Franz  Sigel  was  sent  against  them,  and 
at  Carthage  (July  5)  with  twelve  hundred  men 
encountered  five  thousand  and  inflicted  a  heavy 
loss  upon  them,  though  he  was  obliged  to  retreat. 
His  soldierly  qualities  in  this  and  other  actions 
gave  him  one  of  the  sudden  reputations  that  were 
made  in  the  first  year  of  the  war,  but  obscured  by 
the  greater  events  that  followed.  His  hilarious 
popularity  was  expressed  in  the  common -greeting, 
"  You  fights  mit  Sigel  ?  Den  you  trinks  mit  me  !  " 
Lyon,  marching  from  Springfield,  Mo.,  defeated 


78  DEATH    OF    LYOItf.  [1861. 

McCulloch  at  Dug  Spring,  and  a  week  later  (Au 
gust  10)  attacked  him  again  at  Wilson's  Creek, 
though  McCulloch  had  been  heavily  reenforced. 
The  National  troops,  outnumbered  three  to  one, 
were  defeated  ;  and  Lyon,  who  had  been  twice 
wounded  early  in  the  action,  was  shot  dead  while 
leading  a  regiment  in  a  desperate  charge.  Major 
S.  D.  Sturgis  conducted  the  retreat,  and  this  ended 
the  campaign.  It  was  found  that  General  Lyon, 
who  was  a  bachelor,  had  bequeathed  all  he  pos 
sessed  (about  $30,000)  to  the  United  States  Gov 
ernment,  to  be  used  for  war  purposes. 

In  the  days  when  personal  leadership  was  more 
than  it  can  ever  be  again,  while  South  Carolina 
was  listening  to  the  teachings  of  John  C.  Calhoun, 
which  led  her  to  try  the  experiment  of  secession, 
Kentucky  was  following  Henry  Clay,  who,  though 
a  slaveholder,  was  a  strong  Unionist.  The  prac 
tical  effect  was  seen  when  the  crisis  came,  after  he 
had  been  in  his  grave  nine  years.  Governor  Be- 
riah  Magoffm  convened  the  Legislature  in  Janu 
ary,  1861,  and  asked  it  to  organize  the  militia,  buy 
muskets,  and  put  the  State  in  a  condition  of  armed 
neutrality  ;  all  of  which  it  refused  to  do.  After 
the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter  he  called  the  Legislature 
together  again,  evidently  hoping  that  the  popular 
excitement  would  bring  them  over  to  his  scheme. 
But  the  utmost  that  could  be  accomplished  was 
the  passage  of  a  resolution  by  the  lower  house 
(May  1 6)  declaring  that  Kentucky  should  occupy 
"  a  position  of  strict  neutrality,"  and  approving  his 
refusal  to  furnish  troops  for  the  National  army. 


1861.]  THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    KENTUCKY.  79 

Thereupon  he  issued  a  proclamation  (May  20)  in 
which  he  "  notified  and  warned  all  other  States, 
separate  or  united,  especially  the  United  and  Con 
federate  States,  that  I  solemnly  forbid  any  move 
ment  upon  Kentucky  soil."  But  two  days  later 
the  Legislature  repudiated  this  interpretation  of 
neutrality,  and  passed  a  series  of  acts  intended  to 
prevent  any  scheme  of  secession  that  might  be 
formed.  It  appropriated  $1,000,000  for  arms  and 
ammunition,  but  placed  the  disbursement  of  the 
money  and  control  of  the  arms  in  the  hands  of 
Commissioners  that  were  all  Union  men.  It 
amended  the  militia  law  so  as  to  require  the  State 
Guards  to  take  an  oath  to  support  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States,  and  finally  the  Senate 
passed  a  resolution  declaring  that  "  Kentucky  will 
not  sever  connection  with  the  National  Govern 
ment,  nor  take  up  arms  with  either  belligerent 
party."  Lovell  H.  Rousseau  (afterward  a  gallant 
General  in  the  National  service),  speaking  in 
his  place  in  the  Senate,  said  :  "The  politicians  are 
having  their  day ;  the  people  will  yet  have  theirs. 
I  have  an  abiding  confidence  in  the  right,  and  I 
know  that  this  secession  movement  is  all  wrong. 
There  is  not  a  single  substantial  reason  for  it ;  our 
Government  had  never  oppressed  us  with  a  feath 
er's  weight."  The  Rev.  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  and 
other  prominent  citizens  took  a  similar  stand,  and 
a  new  Legislature,  chosen  in  August,  presented  a 
Union  majority  of  three  to  one.  As  a  last  resort, 
Governor  Magoffin  addressed  a  letter  to  President 
Lincoln,  requesting  that  Kentucky's  neutrality  be 


80  THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    MARYLAND.  [1861. 

respected  and  the  National  forces  removed  from 
the  State.  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  refusing  his  request, 
courteously  reminded  him  that  the  force  consisted 
exclusively  of  Kentuckians,  and  told  him  that  he 
had  not  met  any  Kentuckian  except  himself  and 
the  messengers  that  brought  his  letter  who  wanted 
it  removed.  To  strengthen  the  first  argument, 
Robert  Anderson,  of  Fort  Sumter  fame,  who  was 
a  citizen  of  Kentucky,  was  made  a  General  and 
given  the  command  in  the  State  in  September. 
Two  months  later,  a  secession  convention  met  at 
Russellville,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State, 
organized  a  provisional  government,  and  sent  a 
full  delegation  to  the  Confederate  Congress  at 
Richmond,  who  found  no  difficulty  in  being  admit 
ted  to  seats  in  that  body.  Being  now  firmly  sup 
ported  by  the  new  Legislature,  the  National  Gov 
ernment  began  to  arrest  prominent  Kentuckians 
who  still  advocated  secession,  whereupon  others, 
including  ex-Vice-President  John  C.  Breckinridge, 
fled  southward  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Con 
federacy.  Kentucky  as  a  State  was  saved  to  the 
Union,  but  the  line  of  separation  was  drawn  be 
tween  her  citizens,  and  she  contributed  to  the  ranks 
of  both  the  great  contending  armies. 

Like  the  Governor  of  Kentucky,  Governor 
Thomas  H.  Hicks,  of  Maryland,  had  at  first  pro 
tested  against  the  passage  of  troops,  had  dreamed 
of  making  the  State  neutral,  and  had  even  gone  so 
far  as  to  suggest  to  the  Administration  that  the 
British  Minister  at  Washington  be  asked  to  medi- 

o 

ate  between  it  and  the  Confederates.     But,  unlike 


1861.]  THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    MARYLAND.  8 1 

Governor  Magoffin,  he  ultimately  came  out  in 
favor  of  the  Union.  The  Legislature  would  not 
adopt  an  ordinance  of  secession,  nor  call  a  conven 
tion  for  that  purpose  ;  but  it  passed  a  bill  establish 
ing  a  board  of  public  safety,  giving  it  extraordinary 
authority  over  the  military  powers  of  the  State, 
and  appointed  as  such  board  six  secessionists  and 
the  Governor.  A  tremendous  pressure  was  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  State.  One  of  her  poets,  in  a 
ringing  rhyme  to  a  popular  air,  told  her  that  the 
despot's  heel  was  on  her  shore,  and  predicted  that 
she  would  speedily  "  spurn  the  Northern  scum," 
while  the  Vice-President  of  the  Confederacy  felt 
so  sure  of  her  acquisition  that  in  a  speech  (April 
30)  he  triumphantly  announced  that  she  "  had 
resolved,  to  a  man,  to  stand  by  the  South."  But 
Reverdy  Johnson  and  other  prominent  Maryland- 
ers  were  quite  as  bold  and  active  for  the  National 
cause;  a  popular  Union  convention  was  held  in 
Baltimore  ;  General  Butler  with  his  troops  restored 
the  broken  communications  and  held  the  important 
centres ;  and  under  a  suspension  of  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpiis  some  of  the  more  violent  secession 
ists  were  imprisoned.  The  release  of  the  citizens 
was  demanded  by  Chief-Justice  Taney,  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  who  declared  that 
the  President  had  no  right  to  suspend  the  writ,  but 
his  demand  was  refused.  In  May  the  Governor 
called  for  four  regiments  of  volunteers  to  fill  the 
requisition  of  the  National  Government,  but  re 
quested  that  they  might  be  assigned  to  duty  in 
the  State.  So  Maryland  remained  in  die  Union, 


82  SECESSION    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA.  [1861. 

though  a  considerable  number  of  her  citizens  en 
tered  the  ranks  of  the  Confederate  army. 

In  the  mountainous  regions  of  western  North 
Carolina  and  eastern  Tennessee,  where  few  slaves 
were  held,  there  was  a  strong  Union  element.  In 
other  portions  of  those  States  there  were  many 
enthusiastic  secessionists.  But  in  each  State  there 
was  a  majority  against  disunion.  North  Carolina 
voted  on  the  question  of  calling  a  convention  to 
consider  the  subject,  and  by  a  small  majority 
decided  for  "no  convention."  Tennessee,  on  a 
similar  vote,  showed  a  majority  of  fifty  thousand 
against  calling  a  convention.  After  the  fall  of 
Sumter  Governor  John  W.  Ellis,  of  North  Car 
olina,  seized  the  branch  mint  at  Charlotte  and  the 
arsenal  at  Fayetteville,  and  called  an  extra  session 
of  the  Legislature.  This  Legislature  authorized 
him  to  tender  the  military  resources  of  the  State 
to  the  Confederate  Government,  and  called  a  con 
vention  to  meet  May  20,  which  passed  an  ordi 
nance  of  secession  by  a  unanimous  vote.  The 
conservative  or  Union  party  of  Tennessee  issued 
an  address  on  the  i8th  of  April,  in  which  they 
declared  their  approval  of  the  Governor's  refusal 
to  furnish  troops  for  the  National  defence,  and  con 
demned  both  secession  and  coercion,  holding 
that  Tennessee  should  take  an  independent  atti 
tude.  This,  with  the  excitement  of  the  time,  was 
enough  for  the  Legislature.  In  secret  session  it 
authorized  Governor  Isham  G.  Harris,  who  was  a 
strong  secessionist,  to  enter  into  a  military  league 
with  the  Confederate  Government,  which  he 


1861.]  THE    STRUGGLE   FOR    TENNESSEE.  83 

immediately  did.  It  also  passed  an  ordinance  of 
secession,  to  be  submitted  to  a  popular  vote  on 
the  8th  of  June.  Before  that  day  came,  the  State 
was  in  the  possession  of  Confederate  soldiers,  and 
a  majority  of  over  fifty  thousand  was  obtained  for 
secession.  East  Tennessee  had  voted  heavily 
against  the  ordinance  ;  and  a  convention  held  at 
Greenville,  June  17,  wherein  thirty-one  of  the 
eastern  counties  were  represented,  declared,  for 
certain  plainly  specified  reasons,  that  it  "  did  not 
regard  the  result  of  the  election  as  expressive  of 
the  will  of  a  majority  of  the  freemen  of  Tennes 
see."  Later,  the  people  of  those  counties  asked 
to  be  separated  peaceably  from  the  rest  of  the 
State  and  allowed  to  remain  in  the  Union  ;  but  the 
Confederate  authorities  did  not  recognize  the 
principle  of  secession  from  secession,  and  the 
people  of  that  region  were  subjected  to  a  bloody 
and  relentless  persecution,  before  which  many  of 
them  fled  from  their  homes.  The  most  prominent 
of  the  Unionists  were  Andrew  Johnson  and  the 
Rev.  William  G.  Brownlow. 

That  portion  of  the  Old  Dominion  which  lay 
west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  held  in  1860  but 
one  twelfth  as  many  slaves  in  proportion  to  its 
white  population  as  the  remainder  of  the  State. 
And  when  Virginia  passed  her  ordinance  of 
secession,  all  but  nine  of  the  fifty-five  votes  against 
it  were  cast  by  delegates  from  the  mountainous 
western  counties.  The  people  of  these  counties, 
having  little  interest  in  slavery  and  its  products, 
and  great  interests  in  iron,  coal,  and  lumber,  the 


84  ACTIONS    IN    WESTERN    VIRGINIA.  [1861. 

market  for  which  was  in  the  free  States,  while 
their  streams  flowed  into  the  Ohio,  naturally 
objected  to  being  dragged  into  the  Confederacy. 
Like  the  people  of  East  Tennessee,  they  wanted 
to  secede  from  secession,  and  one  of  their  dele 
gates  actually  proposed  it  in  the  convention.  In 
less  than  a  month  (May  13)  after  the  passage  of 
the  ordinance,  a  Union  convention  was  held  at 
Wheeling,  in  which  twenty-five  of  the  western 
counties  were  represented  ;  and  ten  days  later,  when 
the  election  was  held,  these  people  voted  against 
seceding.  The  State  authorities  sent  recruiting 
officers  over  the  mountains,  but  they  had  little 
success.  Some  forces  were  gathered  under  the 
direction  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee  and  under 
the  immediate  command  of  Colonel  Porterfield, 
who  began  burning  the  bridges  on  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad.  Meanwhile  Captain  George 
B.  McClellan  had  been  made  a  General  and  placed 
in  command  of  Ohio  troops.  With  four  regiments 
he  crossed  the  Ohio  on  the  26th  and  went  in  pur 
suit  of  the  enemy.  His  movement  at  first  \vas 
retarded  by  the  burned  bridges  ;  but  these  were 
repaired,  large  reinforcements  were  brought  over, 
and  in  a  series  of  small  but  brilliant  engagements 
—at  Philippi,  at  Buckhannon,  at  Rich  Mountain, 
and  at  Carrick's  Ford — he  completely  routed  the 
Confederates. 

Delegates  from  the  counties  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghantes  met  at  Wheeling  (June  1 1),  pronounced 
the  acts  of  the  Richmond  Convention  null  and 
void,  declared  all  the  State  offices  vacant,  and  re- 


1861.]  FORMATION    OF    WEST    VIRGINIA.  85 

organized  the  government,  with  Francis  H.  Pier- 
pont  as  Governor.  A  legislature,  consisting  of 
members  that  had  been  chosen  on  the  23d  of  May, 
met  at  Wheeling  on  the  ist  of  July,  and  on  the 
9th  it  elected  two  United  States  Senators.  The 
new  State  of  Kanawha  was  formally  declared  cre 
ated  in  August.  Its  Constitution  was  ratified  by 
the  people  in  May,  1862,  and  in  December  of  that 
year  it  was  admitted  into  the  Union.  But  mean 
while  its  original  and  appropriate  name  had  been 
exchanged  for  that  of  West  Virginia. 

France  and  England  had  made  all  haste  to  rec 
ognize  the  Confederates  as  belligerents,  but  had 
not  granted  them  recognition  as  an  established  na 
tion,  and  never  did.  There  was  a  constant  fear, 
however,  that  they  would,  and  the  Confederate 
Government  did  its  utmost  to  bring  about  such 
recognition.  Messrs.  James  M.  Mason,  of  Vir 
ginia,  and  John  Slidell,  of  Louisiana,  were  sent 
out  by  that  Government,  as  duly  accredited  minis 
ters  to  London  and  Paris,  in  1861.  They  escaped 
the  blockaders  at  Charleston,  reached  Havana, 
and  there  embarked  on  the  British  mail  steamer 
"  Trent "  for  Europe.  But  Captain  Charles  Wilkes 
(who  had  commanded  the  celebrated  exploring 
expedition  in  Antarctic  waters  twenty  years  be 
fore)  was  on  the  watch  for  them  with  the  United 
States  steam  frigate  "San  Jacinto,"  overhauled  the 
"Trent"  in  the  Bahama  Channel  (November  8), 
took  off  the  Confederate  commissioners,  and  al 
lowed  the  steamer  to  proceed  on  her  way.  He 
carried  his  prisoners  to  Boston,  and  they  were  in- 


86  THE    TRENT    AFFAIR.  [1861. 

carcerated  in  Fort  Warren.  This  action,  for  which 
Wilkes  received  the  thanks  of  Congress,  was  de 
nounced  as  an  outrage  on  British  neutrality.  The 
entire  British  public  bristled  up  as  one  lion,  and 
their  Government  demanded  an  apology  and  the 
liberation  of  the  prisoners.  The  American  public 
was  unable  to  see  any  way  out  of  the  dilemma,  and 
was  considering  whether  it  would  choose  humilia 
tion  or  a  foreign  war,  when  our  Secretary  of  State, 
William  H.  Seward,  solved  the  problem  in  a  mas 
terly  manner.  In  his  formal  reply  he  discussed 
the  whole  question  with  great  ability,  showing 
that  such  detention  of  a  vessel  was  justified  by  the 
laws  of  war,  and  there  were  innumerable  British 
precedents  for  it  ;  that  Captain  Wilkes  conducted 
the  search  in  a  proper  manner  ;  that  the  commis 
sioners  were  contraband  of  war  ;  and  that  the  com 
mander  of  the  "  Trent "  knew  they  were  contraband 
of  war  when  he  took  them  as  passengers.  But  as 
Wilkes  had  failed  to  complete  the  transaction  in  a 
legal  manner  by  bringing  the  "  Trent "  into  port 
for  adjudication  in  a  prize  court,  it  must  be  repu 
diated.  In  other  words,  by  his  consideration  for 
the  interests  and  convenience  of  innocent  persons, 
he  had  lost  his  prize.  In  summing  up,  Mr.  Seward 
said  :  "  If  I  declare  this  case  in  favor  of  my  own 
Government,  I  must  disavow  its  most  cherished 
principles,  and  reverse  and  forever  abandon  its 
most  essential  policy.  .  .  .  We  are  asked  to 
do  to  the  British  nation  just  what  we  have  always 
insisted  all  nations  ought  to  do  to  us."  The  com 
missioners  were  released,  and  sailed  for  England 


[1862.  HOSTILITY    IN    ENGLAND.  87 

in  January  ;  but  the  purpose  of  their  mission  had 
been  practically  thwarted.  This  was  a  remarkable 
instance  of  eating  one's  cake  and  keeping  it  at  the 
same  time. 

But  though  danger  of  intervention  was  thus  for 
the  time  averted,  and  the  relations  between  the 
British  Government  and  our  own  remained  nomi 
nally  friendly,  so  far  as  moral  influence  and  bitter 
ness  of  feeling  could  go  the  Republic  had  no 
more  determined  enemies  in  the  cotton  States 
than  in  the  heart  of  England.  The  aristocratic 
classes  rejoiced  at  anything  that  threatened  to 
destroy  democratic  government  or  make  its  stabil 
ity  doubtful.  They  confidently  expected  to  see 
our  country  fall  into  a  state  of  anarchy  like  that 
experienced  so  often  by  the  Spanish-American 
republics,  and  were  willing  to  do  everything  they 
safely  could  to  bring  it  about.  The  foremost  En 
glish  journals  had  been  predicting  such  a  disaster 
ever  since  the  beginning  of  the  century,  had  an 
nounced  it  as  in  progress  when  a  British  force 
burned  Washington  in  1814,  and  now  were  surer 
of  it  than  ever.  Almost  our  only  friends  of  the 
London  press  were  the  daily  "  News  "  and  weekly 
"  Spectator."  The  commercial  classes,  in  a  country 
that  had  fought  so  many  commercial  wars,  were  of 
course  delighted  at  the  crippling  of  a  commercial 
rival  whom  they  had  so  long  hated  and  feared,  no 
matter  what  it  might  cost  in  the  shedding  of  blood 
and  the  destruction  of  social  order.  Among  the 
working  classes,  though  they  suffered  heavily  when 
the  supply  of  cotton  was  diminished,  we  had  many 


88  ATTITUDE    OF    LOUIS    NAPOLEON.  [1861. 

firm  and  devoted  friends,  who  saw  and  felt,  how 
ever  imperfectly,  that  the  cause  of  free  labor  was 
their  own  cause,  no  matter  on  which  side  of  the 
Atlantic  the  battle-field  might  lie. 

To  those  who  had  for  years  endured  the  taunts 
of  Englishmen  who  pointed  to  American  slavery 
and  its  tolerance  in  the  American  Constitution, 
while  they  boasted  that  no  slave  could  breathe  on 
British  soil,  it  was  a  strange  sight,  when  our 
country  was  at  war  over  the  question,  to  see  almost 
everything  that  had  power  and  influence  in  En 
gland  arrayed  on  the  side  of  the  slaveholders.  A 
few  famous  Englishmen — notably  John  Bright  and 
Goldwin  Smith — were  true  to  the  cause  of  liberty, 
and  did  much  to  instruct  the  laboring  classes  as 
to  the  real  nature  and  significance  of  the  conflict. 
Henry  Ward  Beecher,  then  at  the  height  of  his 
powers,  went  to  England  and  addressed  large 
audiences,  enlightening  them  as  to  the  real  na 
ture  of  American  affairs,  concerning  which  most 
of  them  were  grossly  ignorant,  and  produced  an 
effect  that  was  probably  never  surpassed  by  any 
orator.  The  Canadians,  with  the  usual  narrow 
ness  of  provincials,  blind  to  their  own  ultimate 
interests,  were  in  the  main  more  bitterly  hostile 
than  the  mother  country. 

Louis  Napoleon,  then  the  despotic  ruler  of 
France,  was  unfriendly  to  the  United  States,  and 
did  his  utmost  to  persuade  the  English  Govern 
ment  to  unite  with  him  in  a  scheme  of  intervention 
that  would  probably  have  secured  the  division  of 
the  country.  How  far  his  plans  went  beyond  that 


1864.]  *  FRIENDSHIP    OF    RUSSIA.  89 

result,  can  only  be  conjectured  ;  but  while  the  war 
was  still  in  progress  (1864)  he  threw  a  French 
force  into  Mexico  and  established  there  an  ephem 
eral  empire  with  an  Austrian  Archduke  at  its 
head.  That  the  possession  of  Mexico  alone  was 
not  his  object,  is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  when 
the  rebellion  was  subdued  and  the  secession  cause 
extinct,  he  withdrew  his  troops  from  Mexico  and 
left  the  Archduke  to  the  fate  of  other  filibusters. 

The  Russian  Government  was  friendly  to  the 
United  States  throughout  the  struggle.  The  Im 
perial  manifesto  for  the  abolition  of  serfdom  in 
Russia  was  issued  ®n  March  3,  1861,  the  day  before 
President  Lincoln  was  inaugurated,  and  this  per 
haps  created  a  special  bond  of  sympathy. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    FIRST    UNION    VICTORIES. 

WHEN  the  war  began,  the  greater  part  of  the  small 
navy  of  the  United  States  was  in  distant  waters — 
off  the  coast  of  Africa,  in  the  Mediterranean,  on 
the  Asiatic  station — and  for  some  of  the  ships  to 
receive  the  news  and  return,  many  months  were 
required.  Twelve  vessels  were  at  home — four  in 
Northern  and  eight  in  Southern  ports.  The  navy, 
like  the  army,  lost  many  Southern  officers  by  resig 
nation  or  dismissal.  About  three  hundred  who 
had  been  educated  for  its  service  went  over  to  the 
Confederacy ;  but  none  of  them  took  with  them 
the  vessels  they  had  commanded.  The  Govern 
ment  bought  all  sorts  of  merchant  craft,  mounting 
guns  on  some  and  fitting  up  others  as  transports, 
and  had  gunboats  built  on  ninety-day  contracts. 
It  was  a  most  miscellaneous  fleet,  whose  principal 
strength  consisted  in  the  weakness  of  its  adversary. 
The  first  purpose  was  to  complete  the  blockade  of 
Southern  ports.  Throughout  the  war  this  was 
never  made  so  perfect  that  no  vessels  could  pass 
through  ;  but  it  was  gradually  rendered  more  and 
more  effective,  till  running  it  became  exceedingly 
dangerous.  Large  numbers  of  blockade-runners 
were  captured  or  driven  ashore  and  wrecked.  The 
profit  on  a  single  cargo  that  passed  either  way  in 


1SC1.J  ENGLISH    EQUIPMENTS.  9 1 

safety  was  very  great,  and  special  vessels  for 
blockade-running  were  built  in  England.  The 
Confederate  Government  enacted  a  law  providing 
that  a  certain  portion  of  every  cargo  thus  brought 
into  its  ports  must  consist  of  arms  or  ammunition, 
otherwise  vessel  and  all  would  be  confiscated. 
This  insured  a  constant  supply ;  and  though  the 
Southern  soldier  was  often  barefoot  and  ragged, 
and  sometimes  hungry,  he  never  lacked  for  the 
most  improved  weapons  that  English  arsenals 
could  produce,  nor  was  ever  defeated  for  want  of 
powder.  A  very  large  part  of  the  bullets  that 
destroyed  the  lives  and  limbs  of  National  troops 
were  cast  in  England  and  brought  over  the  sea  in 
blockade-runners.  Clothing  and  equipments,  too, 
for  the  Confederate  armies  came  from  the  same 
source.  Often  when  a  burial  party  went  out,  after 
a  battle,  as  they  turned  over  one  after  another  of 
the  enemy's  slain  and  saw  the  name  of  a  Birming 
ham  manufacturer  stamped  upon  his  buttons,  it 
seemed  that  they  must  have  been  fighting  a  foreign 
foe.  To  pay  for  these  things,  the  Confederates 
sent  out  cotton,  tobacco,  rice,  and  the  naval  stores 
produced  by  North  Carolina  forests.  It  was  ob 
vious  from  the  first  that  any  movement  that  would 
shut  off  a  part  of  this  trade,  or  render  it  more 
hazardous,  would  strike  a  blow  at  the  insurrection. 
Furthermore,  Confederate  privateers  were  already 
out,  and  before  the  first  expedition  sailed  sixteen 
captured  merchantmen  had  been  taken  into  the 
ports  of  North  Carolina. 

Vessels  could  enter  Pamlico  or  Albemarle  Sound 


92  THE    HATTERAS    EXPEDITION.  [1861. 

by  any  one  of  several  inlets,  and  then  make  the 
port  of  Newbern,  Washington,  or  Plymouth  ;  and 
the  first  of  several  naval  and  military  expeditions 
was  fitted  out  for  the  purpose  of  closing  the  most 
useful  of  these  openings,  Hatteras  Inlet,  thirteen 
miles  south  of  Cape  Hatteras.  Two  forts  had 
been  erected  on  the  point  at  the  northern  side  of 
this  inlet,  and  the  project  was  to  capture  them  ; 
but,  so  new  was  everybody  to  the  art  of  war,  it  was 
not  at  first  intended  to  garrison  and  hold  them. 

The  expedition,  which  originated  with  the 
Navy  Department,  was  fitted  out  in  Hampton 
Roads,  and  was  commanded  by  Flag-officer  Silas 
H.  Stringham.  It  numbered  ten  vessels,  all  told, 
carrying  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  guns.  Two 
were  transport  steamers,  having  on  board  about 
nine  hundred  troops  commanded  by  General 
Benjamin  F.  Butler,  and  two  were  schooners 
carrying  iron  surf-boats.  It  sailed  on  the  26th 
of  August,  1 86 1,  with  sealed  orders,  arrived  at 
its  destination  before  sunset,  and  anchored  off 
the  bar.  Early  the  next  morning  an  attempt  was 
made  to  land  the  troops  through  the  surf,  at  a  point 
three  miles  from  the  inlet,  whence  they  might  at 
tack  the  forts  in  the  rear.  But  it  was  not  very  suc 
cessful.  The  heavy  surf  dashed  the  clumsy  iron 
boats  upon  the  shore,  drenching  the  men,  wetting 
the  powder,  and  endangering  everything.  About 
one  third  of  the  troops,  however,  were  landed, 
with  two  field-guns,  and  remained  there  under 
protection  of  the  fire  from  the  ships.  The  forts 
were  garrisoned  by  about  six  hundred  men, 


1861.]  THE    HATTERAS    EXPEDITION.  93 

and  mounted  twenty-five  guns  ;  but  they  were  not 
very  strong,  and  their  bomb-proofs  were  not  con 
structed  properly.  Stringham's  flag-ship,  the 
frigate  "  Minnesota,"  led  off  in  the  attack,  followed 
by  the  "  Susquehanna"  and  "  Wabash,"  and  the 
guns  of  the  smaller  fort  were  soon  silenced.  The 
frigates  were  at  such  a  distance  that  they  could 
drop  shells  into  it  with  their  pivot-guns,  while  the 
shot  from  the  fort  could  not  reach  them.  After 
ward  the  larger  work,  Fort  Hatteras,  was  bom 
barded,  but  with  -no  practical  effect,  though  the 
firing  was  kept  up  till  sunset.  But  meanwhile 
the  troops  that  had  landed  through  the  surf  had 
taken  possession  of  the  smaller  work,  Fort  Clark. 
They  also  threw  up  a  small  earthwork,  and  with 
their  field-pieces  fired  upon  some  Confederate 
vessels  that  were  in  the  Sound.  The  next  morn 
ing  (the  28th)  the  frigates  anchored  within  reach 
of  Fort  Hatteras,  and  began  a  deliberate  and 
steady  bombardment.  As  before,  the  shot  from 
the  fort  fell  short  of  the  ships,  and  neither  could 
that  from  the  smooth-bore  broadside  guns  reach 
the  fort ;  but  the  pivot-guns  and  the  rifled  pieces 
of  one  vessel  wrought  great  havoc.  One  plunging 
shell  went  down  through  a  ventilator  and  narrowly 
missed  exploding  the  magazine.  At  the  end  of 
three  hours  the  fort  surrendered.  Its  defenders, 
who  were  commanded  by  Samuel  Barren,  formerly 
of  the  United  States  navy,  had  suffered  a  loss  of 
about  fifty  in  killed  and  wounded.  They  had  been 
reenforced  in  the  night,  but  a  steamer  was  seen 
taking  away  a  load  of  troops  just  before  the  sur- 


94  THE    PORT    ROYAL    EXPEDITION.  [1861. 

render.  The  seven  hundred  prisoners  were  sent 
on  board  the  flag-ship  and  carried  to  New  York. 
The  victors  had  not  lost  a  man.  There  had  been 
some  intention  of  destroying  the  forts  and  blocking 
up  the  channels  of  the  inlet ;  but  it  was  determined 
instead  to  leave  a  garrison  and  establish  a  coaling 
station  for  the  blockading  fleet.  Two  of  the 
frigates  remained  in  the  Sound,  and  within  a  fort 
night  half  a  dozen  blockade-runners  entered  the 
inlet  and  were  captured. 

A  much  larger  expedition  sailed  from  Hampton 
Roads  on  one  of  the  last  days  of  October.  It  con 
sisted  of  more  than  fifty  vessels — frigates,  gunboats, 
transports,  tugs,  steam  ferry-boats,  and  schooners 
—carrying  twenty-two  thousand  men.  The  fleet 
was  commanded  by  Flag-officer  Samuel  F.  Du  Pont, 
the  troops  by  General  Thomas  W.  Sherman  (who 
must  not  be  confounded  with  General  William  T. 
Sherman,  famous  for  his  march  to  the  sea).  The 
expedition  had  been  two  months  in  preparation, 
and  though  it  sailed  with  sealed  orders  and  every 
effort  had  been  made  to  keep  its  destination  secret, 
the  information  leaked  out  as  usual,  and  while  it 
was  on  its  way  the  Confederate  Secretary  of  War 
telegraphed  to  the  Governor  of  South  Carolina 
and  the  commander  at  Hilton  Head  where  to  ex 
pect  it.  Bull's  Bay,  St.  Helena,  Port  Royal,  and 
Fernandina  had  all  been  discussed,  and  the  final 
choice  fell  upon  Port  Royal. 

A  tremendous  gale  was  encountered  on  the  pas 
sage,  the  fleet  was  scattered,  one  transport  was 
completely  wrecked,  with  a  loss  of  seven  lives,  one 


1861.]  BOMBARDMENT    OF    THE    FORTS.  95 

gunboat  was  obliged  to  throw  her  broadside  bat 
tery  overboard,  a  transport  threw  over  her  cargo, 
and  one  storeship  was  lost.  When  the  storm  was 
over,  only  a  single  gunboat  was  in  sight  from  the 
flag-ship.  But  the  fleet  slowly  came  together 
again,  and  was  joined  by  some  of  the  frigates  that 
were  blockading  Charleston  harbor,  these  being 
relieved  by  others  that  had  come  down  for  the  pur 
pose.  They  arrived  off  the  entrance  to  Port  Royal 
harbor  on  the  5th  and  6th  of  November.  This 
entrance  was  protected  by  two  earthworks — Fort 
Walker  on  Hilton  Head  (the  south  side),  and  Fort 
Beauregard  on  St.  Helena  island  (the  north  side). 
These  forts  were  about  two  and  a  half  miles  apart, 
and  were  garrisoned  by  South  Carolina  troops, 
commanded  by  Generals  Drayton  and  Ripley.  A 
brother  of  General  Drayton  commanded  a  vessel 
in  the  attacking  fleet. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th  the  order  of  battle 
was  formed.  The  bar  was  ten  miles  out  from  the 
entrance,  and  careful  soundings  had  been  made  by 
two  gunboats,  under  the  fire  of  three  Confederate 
vessels  that  ran  out  from  the  harbor.  The  main 
column  consisted  of  ten  vessels,  led  by  the  flag 
ship  "  Wabash,"  and  was  ordered  to  attack  Fort 
Walker.  Another  column  of  four  vessels  was  or 
dered  to  fire  upon  Fort  Beauregard,  pass  in,  and 
attack  the  Confederate  craft.  All  were  underway 
soon  after  breakfast,  and  were  favored  by  a  tran 
quil  sea.  The  main  column,  a  ship's  length  apart, 
steamed  in  steadily  at  the  rate  of  six  miles  an  hour, 
passing  Fort  Walker  at  a  distance  of  eight  hundred 


96  CAPTURE    OF    HILTON    HEAD.  [1861. 

yards,  and  delivering  a  fire  of  shells  and  rifled  shot. 
Every  gun  in  the  fort  that  could  be  brought  to 
bear  was  worked  as  rapidly  as  possible,  in  a  gallant 
defence.  After  the  line  had  passed  the  fort,  it 
turned  and  steamed  out  again,  passing  this  time 
within  six  hundred  yards,  and  delivering  fire  from 
the  guns  on  the  other  side  of  the  vessels.  Three 
times  they  thus  went  around  in  a  long  ellipse, 
each  time  keeping  the  fort  under  fire  for  about 
twenty  minutes.  Then  the  "  Bienville,"  which  had 
the  heaviest  guns,  and  was  commanded  by  Captain 
Steadman,  a  South  Carolinian,  sailed  in  closer  yet 
and  delivered  a  fire  that  dismounted  several  guns 
and  wrought  dreadful  havoc.  Meanwhile  two  or 
three  gunboats  had  taken  a  position  from  which 
they  enfiladed  the  work,  and  the  flag-ship  came  to 
a  stand  at  short  range  and  pounded  away  steadily. 
This  was  more  than  anything  at  that  stage  of  the 
war  could  endure,  and  from  the  mast-head  the 
troops  were  seen  streaming  out  of  the  fort  and 
across  Hilton  Head  Island  as  if  in  panic.  A  flag 
of  truce  was  sent  on  shore,  but  there  was  no  one  to 
receive  it,  and  soon  after  two  o'clock  the  National 
colors  were  floating  over  the  fort.  The  flanking 
column  of  vessels  had  attacked  Fort  Beauregard  ; 
and  when  the  commander  of  that  work  saw  that 
Fort  Walker  was  abandoned  by  its  defenders,  he 
also  retreated  with  his  force.  The  Confederate 
vessels  escaped  by  running  up  a  shallow  inlet.  The 
loss  in  the  fleet  was  eight  men  killed  and  twenty- 
three  wounded  ;  that  of  the  Confederates,  as  re 
ported  by  their  commander,  was  eleven  killed  and 


1862.]  ACTION    AT    PAINTVILLE.  97 

fifty-two  wounded  or  missing.  General  Sherman 
said,  "  Many  bodies  were  buried  in  the  fort,  and 
twenty  or  thirty  were  found  half  a  mile  distant." 
The  road  across  Hilton  Head  Island  to  a  wharf 
whence  the  retreating  troops  were  taken  to  the 
main  land  was  strewn  with  arms  and  accoutrements, 
and  two  howitzers  were  abandoned.  The  surgeon 
of  the  fort  had  been  killed  by  a  shell  and  buried  by 
a  falling  parapet.  The  troops  were  debarked  and 
took  possession  of  both  forts,  repaired  and  strength 
ened  the  works,  formed  an  intrenched  camp,  and 
thus  gave  the  Government  a  permanent  foothold 
on  the  soil  of  South  Carolina. 

The  year  1862  opened  with  indications  of  lively 
and  decisive  work  west  of  the  mountains,  and 
many  movements  were  made  that  cannot  be  de 
tailed  here.  One  of  the  most  gallant  was  in  the 
region  of  the  Big  Sandy  River  in  eastern  Kentucky, 
where  Humphrey  Marshall  had  gathered  a  Con 
federate  force  of  about  two  thousand  five  hundred 
(mostly  Kentuckians)  at  Paintville.  Colonel 
James  A.  Garfield  (afterward  President),  in  com 
mand  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  infantry  and 
three  hundred  cavalry,  drove  him  out  of  Paintville, 
pursued  him  beyond  Prestonburg,  came  up  with 
him  at  noon  of  January  loth,  and  fought  him  till 
night,  when  Marshall  retreated  under  cover  of  the 
darkness,  leaving  his  dead  on  the  field. 

In  the  autumn  of  1861  a  Confederate  force, 
under  General  Felix  K.  Zollicoffer,  had  been 
pushed  forward  by  way  of  Knoxville  to  eastern 
Kentucky,  but  was  defeated  at  Camp  Wildcat, 


98  BATTLE    OF    MILL    SPRINGS.  [1862. 

October  2ist,  by  seven  thousand  men  under  Gene 
ral  Schoepff,  and  fell  back  to  Mill  Springs  at  the 
head  of  steamboat  navigation  on  the  Cumberland. 
Zollicoffer  soon  crossed  to  the  northern  bank  and 
fortified  a  position  at  Beech  Grove,  in  the  angle 
between  the  river  and  Fishing  Creek.  The  Na 
tional  forces  in  the  vicinity  were  commanded  by 
General  George  H.  Thomas,  who  watched  Zollicof 
fer  so  closely  that  when  the  latter  was  told  by  his 
superiors  he  should  not  have  crossed  the  river  he 
could  only  answer  that  it  was  now  too  late  to  re 
turn.  As  Zollicoffer  was  only  a  journalist,  with 
more  zeal  than  military  knowledge,  General  George 
B.  Crittenden  was  sent  to  supersede  him.  Thomas 
was  slowly  advancing  through  rainy  weather,  over 
heavy  roads,  to  drive  this  force  out  of  the  State, 
and  had  reached  Logan's  cross-roads,  within  ten 
miles  of  the  Confederate  camp,  when  Crittenden 
determined  to  move  out  and  attack  him.  The 
battle  began  early  on  the  morning  of  January  19, 
1862.  Thomas  was  on  the  alert,  and  when  his 
outposts  were  driven  in  he  rapidly  brought  up  one 
detachment  after  another  and  threw  them  into  line. 
The  attack  was  directed  mainly  against  the  Na 
tional  left,  where  the  fighting  was  obstinate  and 
bloody,  much  of  the  firing  being  at  very  close 
quarters.  Here  Zollicoffer,  thinking  the  Fourth 
Kentucky  was  a  Confederate  regiment  firing  upon 
its  friends,  rode  forward  to  correct  the  supposed 
mistake,  and  was  shot  dead  by  its  Colonel,  Speed 
S.  Fry.  When,  at  length,  the  right  of  the  Con 
federate  line  had  been  pressed  back  and  broken,  a 


1862.]  FORTS    HENRY    AND    DONELSON.  99 

steady  fire  having  been  kept  up  on  the  centre,  the 
Ninth  Ohio  Regiment  made  a  bayonet  charge  on 
its  left  flank,  and  the  whole  line  was  broken  and 
routed.  The  Confederates  took  refuge  in  their 
intrenchments,  where  Thomas  swiftly  pursued  and 
closely  invested  them,  expecting  to  capture  them 
all  the  next  morning.  But  in  the  night  they 
managed  to  cross  the  river,  leaving  behind  their 
wounded,  twelve  guns,  all  their  horses,  mules,  and 
wagons,  and  a  large  amount  of  stores.  In  the 
further  retreat  two  of  the  Confederate  regiments 
disbanded  and  scattered  to  their  homes,  while  a 
large  number  from  other  regiments  deserted  in 
dividually.  The  National  loss  in  killed  and  wound 
ed  was  246 ;  that  of  the  Confederates,  471.  Thomas 
received  the  thanks  of  the  President  for  his  victory. 
This  action  is  variously  called  the  battle  of  Fishing 
Creek  and  the  battle  of  Mill  Springs. 

When  General  Henry  W.  Halleck  was  placed 
in  command  of  the  Department  of  Missouri,  in 
November,  1861,  he  divided  it  into  districts,  giv 
ing  to  General  Ulysses  S.  Grant  the  District  of 
Cairo,  which  included  Southern  Illinois,  the  coun 
ties  of  Missouri  south  of  Cape  Girardeau,  and  all 
of  Kentucky  that  lies  west  of  Cumberland  River. 
Where  the  Tennessee  and  the  Cumberland  enter 
Kentucky  from  the  south  they  are  about  ten  miles 
apart,  and  here  the  Confederates  had  erected  two 
considerable  works  to  command  the  rivers — Fort 
Henry  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Tennessee,  and  Fort 
Donelson  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Cumberland. 
They  had  also  fortified  the  high  bluffs  at  Colum- 


100 


RIVER    GUNBOATS. 


[1862. 


DUS,  on  the  Mis 
sissippi,    twenty 
miles  below  the 
mouth    of     the 
Ohio,  and  Bowl 
ing     Green,   on 
the  Big  Barren. 
The  general  pur 
pose  was  to  es 
tablish  a  milita 
ry  frontier  with 
a  strong  line   of 
defence    from 
the     Alleghany 
Mountains      t  o 
the  Mississippi. 
A  fleet  of  iron 
clad      gunboats 
had    been    pre 
pared     by     the 
United     States 
Government  for 
service    on    the 
Western  rivers, 
some    of    them 
being  built  new, 
while    others 
were    altered 
freight-boats. 

After  a  recon- 
noissance  in 
force  by  General 


• 


[1862.  CAPTURE    OF    FORT    HENRY.  IOI 

C.  F.  Smith,  General  Grant  asked  Halleck's  permis 
sion  to  capture  Fort  Henry,  and  after  considerable 
delay  received  it  on  the  3Oth  of  January.  That 
work  was  garrisoned  by  three  thousand  men  under 
General  Lloyd  Tilghman.  Its  position  was  strong, 
the  ravines  through  which  little  tributaries  reached 
the  river  being  filled  with  slashed  timber  and 
rifle-pits,  and  swampy  ground  rendering  approach 
from  the  land  side  difficult  But  the  work  itself 
was  rather  poorly  built,  bags  of  sand  being  largely 
used  instead  of  a  solid  earth  embankment. 

On  the  morning  of  February  2d  the  fleet  of 
four  iron-clad  and  two  wooden  gunboats,  com 
manded  by  Flag-officer  Andrew  H.  Foote,  left 
Cairo,  steamed  up  the  Ohio  to  Paducah,  thence  up 
the  Tennessee,  and  by  daylight  the  next  morning 
were  within  sight  of  the  fort.  Grant's  land  force 
was  to  co-operate  by  an  attack  in  the  rear,  but  it 
did  not  arrive  in  time.  The  gunboats  moved  up 
to  within  six  hundred  yards,  and  opened  a  bom 
bardment,  to  which  the  guns  of  the  fort  immedi 
ately  responded,  and  the  firing  was  kept  up  for  an 
hour.  The  "  Essex"  received  a  shot  in  her  boiler 
by  which  many  men  were  wounded  or  scalded, 
including  Captain  William  D.  Porter,  son  of 
Commodore  David  Porter,  who  had  won  fame  in 
another  "  Essex"  in  the  war  of  1812-15.  Other 
wise  the  fleet,  though  struck  many  times,  was  not 
seriously  injured.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fire 
from  the  gunboats  knocked  the  sand-bags  about, 
dismounted  seven  guns,  brought  down  the  flag 
staff,  and,  together  with  the  bursting  of  a  rifled 


102  INVESTMENT    OF    FORT    DONELSON. 

gun  in  the  fort,  created  a  panic.  All  but  about 
one  hundred  of  the  garrison  fled,  leaving  General 
Tilghman  with  the  sick  and  a  single  company  of 
artillerists,  and  after  serving  a  gun  with  his  own 
hands  as  long  as  possible,  he  ran  up  a  white  flag 
and  surrendered.  The  regret  of  the  victors  at  the 
escape  of  the  garrison  was  more  than  counter 
balanced  by  their  gratification  at  the  behavior  of 
the  gunboats  in  their  first  serious  trial.  After  the 
surrender,  three  of  the  gunboats  proceeded  up 
the  Tennessee  River  to  the  head  of  navigation,  de 
stroyed  the  railroad  bridge,  and  captured  a  large 
amount  of  stores. 

In  consequence  of  the  battle  of  Mill  Springs 
and  the  fall  of  Fort  Henry,  the  Confederate  Gen 
eral  Simon  B.  Buckner,  who  was  at  Bowling  Green 
with  about  ten  thousand  men,  abandoned  that 
place  and  joined  his  forces  to  those  in  Fort  Donel- 
son.  General  Ormsby  M.  Mitchel,  by  a  forced 
march,  promptly  took  possession  of  Bowling  Green 
with  National  troops ;  and  General  Grant  immedi 
ately  made  dispositions  for  the  capture  of  Fort 
Donelson.  This  work,  situated  at  a  bend  of  the 
river,  was  on  high  ground,  enclosed  about  a  hun 
dred  acres,  and  had  also  a  strong  water-battery  on 
the  lower  river  front.  The  land-side  was  protected 
by  slashed  timber  and  rifle-pits,  as  well  as  by  the 
naturally  broken  ground.  The  gunboats  went 
down  the  Tennessee,  and  up  the  Cumberland,  and 
with  them  a  portion  of  Grant's  force  to  be  used  in 
attacking  the  water  front.  The  fort  contained 
about  twenty  thousand  men,  commanded  by  Gen- 


1862.]  SIEGE    OF    FORT    DONELSON.  103 

eral  John  B.  Floyd,  who  had  been  President  Bu 
chanan's  Secretary  of  War.  Grant's  main  force 
left  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Henry  on  the  morn 
ing  of  February  i2th,  a  portion  marching  straight 
on  Fort  Donelson,  while  the  remainder  made  a 
slight  detour  to  the  south,  to  come  up  on  the  right, 
strike  the  Confederate  left,  and  prevent  escape  in 
that  direction.  They  chose  positions  around  the 
fort  unmolested  that  afternoon,  and  the  next 
morning  the  fighting  began.  After  an  artillery 
duel,  an  attempt  was  made  to  storm  the  works 
near  the  centre  of  the  line,  but  it  was  a  failure  and 
entailed  severe  loss.  The  gunboats  and  the  troops 
with  them  had  not  yet  come  up,  and  the  attack 
was  suspended  for  the  day.  A  cold  storm  set  in, 
with  sleet  and  snow,  and  the  assailants  spent  the 
night  without  shelter  and  with  scant  rations, 
while  a  large  part  of  the  defenders,  being  in  the 
trenches,  were  equally  exposed. 

Next  morning  the  fleet  appeared,  landed  the 
troops  and  supplies  three  miles  below  the  fort, 
and  then  moved  up  to  attack  the  batteries.  These 
were  not  so  easily  disposed  of  as  Fort  Henry  had 
been.  It  was  a  desperate  fight.  The  plunging 
shot  from  the  fort  struck  the  gunboats  in  their 
most  vulnerable  part,  and  made  ugly  wounds. 
But  they  stood  to  the  work  manfully,  and  had 
silenced  one  battery  when  the  steering  apparatus  of 
two  of  the  gunboats  was  shot  away,  while  a  gun  on 
another  had  burst  and  the  flag-officer  was  wounded. 
The  flag-ship  had  been  struck  fifty-nine  times,  and 
the  others  from  twenty  to  forty,  when  they  all 


IO4  SIEGE    OF    FORT    DONELSON.  [1862. 

dropped  down  the  stream  and  out  of  the  fight. 
They  had  lost  fifty-four  men  killed  or  wounded. 
But  the  naval  attack  had  served  to  prevent  an 
immediate  sortie,  and  so  perhaps  ultimately  saved 
the  victory  for  Grant. 

That  night  a  council  of  war  was  held  within  the 
fort,  and  it  was  determined  to  attack  the  besiegers 
in  the  morning  with  the  entire  force,  in  hopes 
either  to  defeat  them  completely  or  at  least  to  turn 
back  their  right  wing,  and  thus  open  a  way  for 
retreat  toward  the  south.  The  fighting  began 
early  in  the  morning.  Grant's  right  wing,  all  but 
surprised,  was  pressed  heavily  and  borne  back,  the 
enemy  passing  through  and  plundering  McCler- 
nand's  camps.  Buckner  sallied  out  and  attacked 
on  the  left  with  much  less  vigor  and  with  no  suc 
cess  but  as  a  diversion,  and  the  fighting  extended 
all  along  the  line,  while  the  Confederate  cavalry 
were  endeavoring  to  gain  the  National  rear. 
Grant  was  imperturbable  through  it  all,  and  when 
he  saw  that  the  attack  had  reached  its  height,  he 
ordered  a  counter  attack  and  recovery  of  the  lost 
ground  on  the  right,  which  was  executed  by  the 
division  of  Lew  Wallace,  while  that  of  C.  F.  Smith 
stormed  the  works  on  the  left.  Smith  rode  beside 
the  color-bearer,  and,  in  the  face  of  a  murderous 
fire  that  struck  down  four  hundred  men,  his  troops 
rushed  forward  over  every  obstruction,  brought  up 
field  guns  and  enfiladed  the  works,  drove  out  the 
defenders,  and  took  possession. 

Another  bitterly  cold  night  followed,  but  Grant 
improved  the  time  to  move  up  reinforcements  to 


[1862.  BUCKNERS    SURRENDER.  105 

the  positions  he  had  gained,  while  the  wounded 
were  looked  after  as  well  as  circumstances  would 
permit.  Within  the  fort  another  council  of  war 
was  held.  Floyd  declared  it  would  not  do  for  him 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Government,  as  he 
was  accused  of  defrauding  it  while  in  office.  So 
he  turned  over  the  command  to  General  Gideon 
J.  Pillow.  But  that  General  said  he  also  had  strong 
reasons  for  not  wanting  to  be  a  prisoner,  so  he 
turned  it  over  to  General  Simon  B.  Buckner. 
With  as  many  of  their  men  as  could  be  taken  on 
two  small  steamers,  Floyd  and  Pillow  embarked 
in  the  darkness  and  went  up  the  river  to  Nashville. 
The  cavalry,  under  General  N.  B.  Forrest,  also 
escaped,  and  a  considerable  number  of  men  from 
all  the  commands  managed  to  steal  away  unob 
served.  In  the  morning  Buckner  hung  out  a  white 
flag,  and  sent  a  letter  to  Grant,  proposing  that 
commissioners  be  appointed  to  arrange  terms  of 
capitulation.  Grant's  answer  not  only  made  him 
famous,  but  gave  an  impetus  and  direction  to  the 
whole  war  :  "  No  terms  other  than  an  uncondi 
tional  and  immediate  surrender  can  be  accepted. 
I  propose  to  move  immediately  upon  your  works." 
Buckner,  in  a  petulant  and  ill-considered  note,  at 
once  surrendered  the  fort  and  his  entire  command. 
This  numbered  about  fourteen  thousand  men  ; 
and  four  hundred  that  were  sent  to  reenforce  him 
were  also  captured. 

General  Pillow  estimated  the  Confederate  loss 
in  killed  andwounded  at  two  thousand.  No  undis 
puted  figures  are  attainable  on  either  side.  Grant 


106  SIEGE    OF    LEXINGTON.  [1862. 

began  the  siege  with  about  fifteen  thousand  men, 
which  re-enforcements  had  increased  to  twenty- 
seven  thousand  at  the  time  of  the  surrender.  His 
losses  were  about  two  thousand,  and  many  of  the 
wounded  had  perished  of  cold.  The  long,  arti 
ficial  line  of  defence,  from  the  mountains  to  the 
Mississippi,  was  now  swept  away,  and  the  Con 
federates  abandoned  Nashville,  to  which  Grant 
might  have  advanced  immediately,  had  he  not 
been  forbidden  by  Halleck. 

When  the  news  was  flashed  through  the  loyal 
States,  and  bulletins  were  posted  up  with  enumer 
ation  of  prisoners,  guns,  and  small  arms  captured, 
salutes  were  fired,  joy-bells  were  rung,  flags  were 
displayed,  and  people  asked  one  another,  "  Who  is 
this  Grant,  and  where  did  he  come  from  ? "-  -  for 
they  saw  that  a  new  genius  had  suddenly  risen 
upon  the  earth. 

Both  before  and  after  the  defeat  and  death  of 
General  Lyon  at  Wilson's  Creek  (August,  1861), 
there  was  irregular  and  predatory  warfare  in  Mis 
souri.  Especially  in  the  western  part  of  the  State 
half-organized  bands  of  men  would  come  into  exis 
tence,  sometimes  make  long  marches,  and  on  the 
approach  of  a  strong  enemy  disappear,  some  scat 
tering  to  their  homes  and  others  making  their  way 
to  and  joining  the  bodies  of  regular  troops. 
Among  the  minor  engagements,  one  at  Lexington 
in  September  was  notable,  where  twenty-eight  hun 
dred  men,  commanded  by  Colonel  James  A.  Mul 
ligan,  gallantly  held  the  place  against  a  Confeder 
ate  force  of  more  than  fourteen  thousand,  com- 


CONCENTRATION    AT    PEA    RIDGE.  1 07 

manded  by  General  Price,  until  the  water-supply 
was  cut  off  and  surrender  became  inevitable. 
Price's  force  then  crossed  the  State,  to  the  south 
west  corner.  General  John  C.  Fremont,  who  com 
manded  the  department,  believing  that  Price  was 
near  Springfield,  gave  orders  for  the  concentration 
at  that  place  of  all  the  National  forces  in  Missouri. 
But  Price  was  not  there,  and  in  November  Fr£- 
mont  was  superseded  by  General  Halleck,  some 
of  whose  subordinate  commanders,  especially 
General  John  Pope,  made  rapid  movements  and 
did  good  service  in  capturing  newly  recruited  regi 
ments  that  were  on  their  way  to  join  Price. 

Late  in  December  General  Samuel  R.  Curtis 
took  command  of  twelve  thousand  National  troops 
at  Rolla,  and  advanced  against  Price,  who  re 
treated  before  him  to  the  northwestern  corner  of 
Arkansas,  where  his  force  was  joined  by  that  of 
General  McCulloch,  and  together  they  took  up  a 
position  in  the  Boston  Mountains.  Curtis  crossed 
the  line  into  Arkansas,  chose  a  strong  place  on 
Pea  Ridge,  in  the  Ozark  Mountains,  intrenched, 
and  awaited  attack.  Because  of  serious  disagree 
ments  between  Price  and  McCulloch,  General  Earl 
Van  Dorn,  who  ranked  them  both,  was  sent  to 
take  command  of  the  Confederate  force,  arriving 
late  in  January.  There  is  no  authentic  statement 
as  to  the  size  of  his  army.  He  himself  declared 
that  he  had  but  fourteen  thousand  men,  while  no 
other  estimate  gave  fewer  than  twice  that  number. 
Among  them  was  a  large  body  of  Cherokee  In 
dians,  recruited  for  the  Confederate  service  by 


io8 


BATTLE    OF    PEA    RIDGE. 


[1862. 


Albert  Pike,  who  thirty  years  before  had  won 
reputation  as  a  poet.  On  March  5,  1862,  Van 
Dorn  moved  to  attack  Curtis,  who  knew  of  his 
coming  and  formed  his  line  on  the  bluffs  along 

Sugar  Creek,  fac 
ing  southward. 
His  divisions  were 
commanded  b  y 
Generals  Franz 
Sigel  and  Alexan 
der  S.  Asboth  and 
Colonels  Jefferson 
C.  Davis  and  Eu 
gene  A.  Carr,  and 
he.  had  somewhat 
more  than  ten 
thousand  men  in 
line,  with  forty- 
eight  guns.  The 
Confederates,  find 
ing  the  position 
too  strong  in  front, 
made  a  night 
march  to  the  west, 
with  the  intention  of  striking  the  Nationals  on 
the  right  flank.  But  Curtis  discovered  their 
movement  at  dawn,  promptly  faced  his  line  to  the 
right  about,  and  executed  a  grand  left  wheel.  His 
army  was  looking  westward  toward  the  approach 
ing  foe,  Carr's  division  being  on  the  right,  then 
Davis,  then  Asboth,  and*  Sigel  on  the  left.  But 
they  were  not  fairly  in  position  when  the  blow  fell. 


BATTLE    OF    PEA    RIDGE.  1 09 

Carr  was  struck  most  heavily,  and,  though  re-en 
forced  from  time  to  time,  was  driven  back  a  mile 
in  the  course  of  the  day.  Davis,  opposed  to  the 
corps  of  McCulloch,  was  more  successful ;  that 
General  was  killed  and  his  troops  were  driven  from 
the  field.  In  the  night  Curtis  re-formed  and 
strengthened  his  lines,  and  in  the  morning  the 
battle  was  renewed.  This  day  Sigel  executed  some 
brilliant  and  characteristic  manoeuvres.  To  bring 
his  division  into  its  place  on  the  left  wing,  he 
pushed  a  battery  forward,  and  while  it  was  firing 
rapidly  its  infantry  supports  were  brought  up  to 
it  by  a  right  wheel ;  this  movement  was  repeated 
with  another  battery  and  its  supports  to  the  left 
of  the  first,  and  again,  till  the  whole  division  had 
come  into  line,  pressing  back  the  enemy's  right. 
Sigel  was  now  so  far  advanced  that  Curtis's  whole 
line  made  a  curve,  enclosing  the  enemy,  and  by  a 
heavy  concentrated  artillery  fire  the  Confederates 
were  soon  driven  to  the  shelter  of  the  ravines,  and 
finally  put  to  rout.  The  National  loss  in  this 
action  —  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  —  was  over 
thirteen  hundred,  Carr  and  Asboth  being  among 
the  wounded.  The  Confederate  loss  is  unknown. 
Generals  McCulloch  and  .Mclntosh  were  killed, 
and  Generals  Price  and  Slack  wounded.  Owing 
to  the  nature  of  the  ground,  any  effective  pursuit 
of  Van  Dorn's  broken  forces  was  impracticable. 

The  Confederate  Government  had  made  a  treaty 
with  some  of  the  tribes  in  the  Indian  Territory, 
and  had  taken  into  its  service  more  than  four  thou 
sand  Indians,  whom  the  stories  of  Bull  Run  and 


IIO          INDIANS    AND    GUERILLAS    IN    WARFARE.       [1862. 

Wilson's  Creek  had  apparently  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  they  would  have  little  to  do  but  scalp 
the  wounded  and  rob  the  dead.  At  Pea  Ridge 
these  red  men  exhibited  their  old-time  terror  of 
artillery,  and  though  they  took  a  few  scalps  they 
were  so  disgusted  at  being  asked  to  face  half  a 
hundred  well-served  cannon  that  they  were  almost 
useless  to  their  allies,  and  thenceforth  they  took 
no  further  part  in  the  war.  It  is  a  notable  fact 
that  in  the  wars  on  this  continent  the  Indians  have 
only  been  employed  on  the  losing  side.  In  the 
French  and  English  struggle  for  the  country, 
which  ended  in  1763,  the  French  had  the  friend 
ship  of  many  of  the  tribes,  and  employed  them 
against  the  English  settlers  and  soldiers,  but  the 
French  were  conquered  nevertheless.  In  the 
Revolution  and  the  war  of  1812,  the  British  em 
ployed  them  to  some  extent  against  the  Americans, 
but  the  Americans  were  victorious.  In  the  great 
Rebellion,  the  Confederate  Government  attempted 
to  use  them  as  allies  in  the  West  and  Southwest, 
and  in  that  very  section  the  Confederate  cause 
was  first  defeated.  All  of  which  appears  to  show 
that,  though  savages  may  add  to  the  horrors  of 
war,  they  cannot  determine  its  results  for  civilized 
people  ;  nor  can  irresponsible  guerilla  bands,  of 
which  there  were  many  at  the  West,  all  in  the 
service  of  the  Confederacy. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

THE  Crescent  City  was  by  far  the  largest  and 
richest  in  the  Confederacy.  In  1860  it  had  a  pop 
ulation  of  nearly  170,000,  while  Richmond,  Mobile, 
and  Charleston  together  had  fewer  than  two  thirds 
as  many.  In  1 860-61  it  shipped  $25,000,000 
worth  of  sugar  and  $92,000,000  worth  of  cotton,  its 
export  trade  in  these  articles  being  larger  than 
that  of  any  other  city  in  the  world.  Moreover,  its 
strategic  value  in  that  war  was  greater  than  that 
of  any  other  point  in  the  Southern  States.  The 
many  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  frequency 
of  violent  gales  in  the  Gulf,  rendered  it  difficult  to 
blockade  commerce  between  that  great  river  and 
the  ocean ;  but  the  possession  of  this  lowest  com 
mercial  point  on  the  stream  would  shut  it  off 
effectively,  and  would  go  far  toward  securing  pos 
session  all  the  way  to  Cairo.  This  would  cut  the 
Confederacy  in  two,  and  make  it  difficult  to  bring 
supplies  from  Texas  and  Arkansas  to  feed  the 
armies  in  Tennessee  and  Virginia.  Moreover,  a 
great  city  is  in  itself  a  serious  loss  to  one  belligerent 
and  a  capital  prize  to  the  other. 

As  soon  as  it  became  evident  that  war  was  being 
waged  against  the  United  States  in  dead  earnest, 
and  that  it  was  likely  to  be  prolonged,  these  con- 


I  12 


DEFENCES    OF    THE    CITY. 


siderations  presented  themselves  to  the  Govern 
ment,  and  a  plan  was  matured  for  capture  of  the 
largest  city  in  the  territory  of  the,  insurgents. 

The  defences  of  New  Orleans  against  an  enemy 
approaching  from  the  sea  consisted  of  two  forts,  on 


SAL'OUTRE 


either  side  of  the  stream,  thirty  miles  above  the 
head  of  the  five  great  passes  through  which  it  flows 
to  the  Gulf.  The  smaller,  Fort  St.  Philip,  on  the 
left  bank,  was  of  earth  and  brick,  with  flanking  bat 
teries,  and  all  its  guns  were  en  barbette  —  on  the 
top,  in  plain  sight.  These  numbered  about  forty. 
Fort  Jackson,  on  the  right  bank,  mounted  seventy- 
five  guns,  fourteen  of  which  were  in  bomb-proof 
casemates.  Both  of  these  works  had  been  built 
by  the  United  States  Government.  They  were 


1862.]  PLANS    FOR    BOMBARDMENT.  113 

now  •garrisoned  by  about  one  thousand  five  hun 
dred  Confederate  soldiers,  commanded  by  General 
Johnson  K.  Duncan.  Above  them  lay  a  Confed 
erate  fleet  of  fifteen  vessels,  including  an  iron-clad 
ram  and  a  large  floating  battery  that  was  covered 
with  railroad  iron.  Just  below  the  forts  a  heavy 
chain  was  stretched  across  the  river — perhaps  sug 
gested  by  the  similar  device  employed  to  keep  the 
British  from  sailing  up  the  Hudson  during  the 
Revolutionary  war.  And  it  had  a  similar  expe 
rience;  for,  at  first  supported  by  a  row  of  enormous 
logs,  it  was  swept  away  by  the  next  freshet.  The 
logs  were  then  replaced  by  hulks  anchored  at 
intervals  across  the  stream,  and  the  chain  ran 
over  their  decks,  while  its  ends  were  fastened  to 
great  trees.  One  thing  more  completed  the  de 
fence, — two  hundred  sharp-shooters  patrolled  the 
banks  between  the  forts  and  the  head  of  the 
passes,  to  give  warning  of  an  approaching  foe  and 
fire  at  any  one  that  might  be  seen  on  the  decks. 

The  idea  at  Washington,  probably  originated  by 
Commander  (now  Admiral)  David  D.  Porter,  was 
that  the  forts  could  be  reduced  by  raining  into 
them  a  sufficient  shower  of  enormous  shells,  to  be 
thrown  high  into  the  air,  come  down  almost  per 
pendicularly,  and  explode  on  striking.  Accord 
ingly,  the  first  care  was  to  make  the  mortars  and 
shells,  and  provide  the  craft  to  carry  them. 
Twenty-one  mortars  were  cast,  which  were  mounted 
on  twenty-one  schooners.  They  threw  shells  thir 
teen  inches  in  diameter,  weighing  two  hundred  and 
eighty-five  pounds  ;  and  when  one  of  them  was  dis- 


114  THE    FLEET.  [1862. 

charged,  the  concussion  of  the  atmosphere  was  so 
great  that  no  man  could  stand  close  by  without 
being  literally  deafened.  Platforms  projecting 
beyond  the  decks  were  therefore  provided,  for  the 
gunners  to  step  out  upon  just  before  firing. 

The  remainder  of  the  fleet,  as  finally  made  up, 
consisted  of  six  sloops  of  war,  sixteen  gunboats, 
and  five  other  vessels,  besides  transports  carrying 
fifteen  thousand  troops  commanded  by  General  B. 
F.  Butler.  The  whole  number  of  guns  was  over  two 
hundred.  The  flagship  "  Hartford"  was  a  wooden 
steam  sloop  of  war,  one  thousand  tons  burden, 
with  a  length  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet, 
and  a  breadth  of  forty-four  feet.  She  carried 
twenty-two  nine-inch  guns,  two  twenty-pounder  Par- 
rott  guns,  and  a  rifled  gun  on  the  forecastle,  while 
her  fore  and  main  tops  were  furnished  with  howit 
zers  and  surrounded  with  boiler  iron  to  protect  the 
gunners.  The  "  Brooklyn,"  "  Richmond,"  "  Pensa- 
cola,"  "  Portsmouth,"  and  "  Oneida,"  were  similar 
to  the  "  Hartford."  The  "  Colorado  "  was  larger. 
The  "  Mississippi  "was  a  large  side-wheel  steamer. 

This  was  the  most  powerful  expedition  that  had 
ever  sailed  under  the  American  flag,  and  the  man 
that  was  chosen  to  command  it,  Captain  David  G. 
Farragut,  was  as  unknown  to  the  public  as  Ulys 
ses  S.  Grant  had  been.  But  he  was  not  unknown 
to  his  fellow-officers.  Farragut  was  now  sixty 
years  of  age,  being  one  of  the  oldest  men  that  took 
part  in  the  war,  and  he  had  been  in  the  navy  half 
a  century.  He  sailed  the  Pacific  with  Commodore 
Porter  years  before  Grant  and  Sherman  were 


1862.]  ITS    COMMANDER.  115 

born,  and  participated  in  the  bloody  encounter  of 
the  "  Essex  "  and  "  Phoebe"  in  the  harbor  of  Val 
paraiso.  He  was  especially  familiar  with  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  had  pursued  pirates  through 
its  waters  and  hunted  and  fought  them  on  its 
islands.  There  was  nothing  to  be  done  on  ship 
board  that  he  could  not  do  to  perfection,  and  he 
could  have  filled  the  place  of  any  man  in  the  fleet 
— except  perhaps  the  surgeon's.  He  was  born  in 
Tennessee,  and  married  twice  in  Virginia  ;  and  if 
there  had  been  a  peaceable  separation  he  would 
probably  have  made  his  home  in  the  South.  He 
was  at  Norfolk,  waiting  orders,  when  Virginia  se 
ceded,  but  he  considered  that  his  first  duty  was 
to  the  National  Government,  which  had  educated 
him  for  its  service  and  given  him  rank  and  employ 
ment.  When  he  said  that  "Virginia  had  been 
dragooned  out  of  the  Union,"  and  that  he  thought 
the  President  was  justified  in  calling  for  troops 
after  the  firing  on  Sumter,  he  was  told  by  his 
angry  neighbors  that  a  person  holding  such  senti 
ments  could  not  live  in  Norfolk.  "  Very  well, 
then,"  said  he,  "  I  can  live  somewhere  else."  So 
he  made  his  way  North  with  his  little  family,  and 
informed  the  Government  that  he  was  ready  and 
anxious  for  any  service  that  might  be  assigned 
to  him. 

This  was  in  April,  1861  ;  but  it  was  not  till  Jan 
uary,  1862,  that  he  was  appointed  to  command  the 
New  Orleans  expedition  and  the  Western  Gulf 
blockading  squadron.  He  sailed  from  Hampton 
Roads,  February  2d,  in  the  flag-ship  "  Hartford." 


Il6  THE    SAILING-ORDERS. 

Some  sentences  from  the  sailing-orders  addressed 
to  him  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Gideon 
Welles,  are  significant  and  suggestive.  "  As  you 
have  expressed  yourself  perfectly  satisfied  with  the 
force  given  to  you,  and  as  many  more  powerful 
vessels  will  be  added  before  you  can  commence 
operations,  the  Department  and  the  country  re 
quire  of  you  success.  .  .  .  There  are  other  opera 
tions  of  minor  importance  which  will  commend 
themselves  to  your  judgment  and  skill,  but  which 
must  not  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  great  ob 
ject  in  view,  the  certain  capture  of  the  city  of  New 
Orleans.  .  .  .  Destroy  the  armed  barriers  which 
these  deluded  people  have  raised  up  against  the 
power  of  the  United  States  Government,  and  shoot 
down  those  who  war  against  the  Union  ;  but  cul 
tivate  with  cordiality  the  first  returning  reason 
which  is  sure  to  follow  your  success."  In  a  single 
respect  Farragut  was  not  satisfied  with  his  fleet. 
He  had  no  faith  in  the  mortars,  and  would  rather 
have  gone  without  them  ;  but  they  had  been  or 
dered  before  he  was  consulted,  and  were  under  the 
command  of  his  personal  friend  Porter.  Perhaps 
his  distrust  of  them  arose  from  his  knowledge  that 
in  1815  a  British  fleet  had  unavailingly  thrown  a 
thousand  shells  into  a  fort  at  this  very  turn  of  the 
river  where  he  was  now  to  make  the  attack. 

The  mortar  schooners  were  to  rendezvous  first 
at  Key  West,  and  sail  then  for  Ship  Island,  off 
Lake  Borgne,  where  the  transports  were  to  take 
the  troops  and  the  war-vessels  were  to  meet  as 
soon  as  possible. 


1862.]  THE    BOMBARDMENT.  I  I  7 

A  considerable  portion  of  March  was  gone  be 
fore  enough  of  the  fleet  had  reached  the  rendez 
vous  to  begin  operations.  The  first  difficulty  was 
to  get  into  the  river.  The  Eads  jetties  did  not 
then  exist,  and  the  shifting  mud-banks  made  con 
stant  soundings  necessary  for  large  vessels.  The 
mortar  schooners  went  in  by  Pass  a  1'Outre  without 
difficulty ;  but  to  get  the  "  Brooklyn,"  "  Missis 
sippi,"  and  "Pensacola"  over  the  bar  at  South 
west  Pass  required  immense  labor  and  occupied 
two  or  three  weeks.  The  "  Mississippi "  was 
dragged  over  with  her  keel  ploughing  a  furrow  a 
foot  deep  in  the  river  bottom,  and  the  "  Colorado  " 
could  not  be  taken  over  at  all. 

The  masts  of  the  mortar  schooners  were  dressed 
off  with  bushes,  to  render  them  indistinguishable 
from  the  trees  on  shore  near  the  forts.  The 
schooners  were  then  towed  up  to  a  point  within 
range,  and  moored  where  the  woods  hid  them,  so 
that  they  could  not  be  seen  from  the  forts.  Lieu 
tenant  F.  H.  Gerdes,  of  the  Coast  Survey,  had 
made  a  careful  map  of  that  part  of  the  river  and 
its  banks,  and  elaborate  calculations  by  which  the 
mortars  were  to  be  fired  with  a  computed  aim, 
none  of  the  gunners  being  able  to  see  what  they 
fired  at.  They  opened  fire  on  April  i8th,  and 
kept  up  the  bombardment  steadily  for  six  days  and 
nights.  Six  thousand  enormous  shells  —  eight 
hundred  tons  of  iron — were  thrown  high  into  the 
air,  and  fell  in  and  around  the  forts.  For  nearly  a 
week  the  garrison  saw  one  of  Porter's  aerolites 
dropping  upon  them  every  minute  and  a  half. 


n8  FARRAGUT'S  ORDERS. 

They  demolished  buildings,  they  tore  up  the  ground, 
they  cut  the  levee  and  let  in  water,  and  they  killed 
and  mangled  men ;  but  they  did  not  render  the 
forts  untenable  nor  silence  their  guns.  The  return 
tire  sank  one  of  the  mortar  boats  and  disabled  a 
steamer.  Within  the  forts  about  fifty  men  were 
killed  or  wounded —  one  for  every  sixteen  tons  of 
iron  thrown. 

While  the  fleet  was  awaiting  the  progress  of  this 
bombardment,  a  new  danger  appeared.  The  Con 
federates  had  prepared  several  flat-boats  loaded 
with  dry  wood  smeared  with  tar  and  turpentine  ; 
and  they  now  set  fire  to  them  one  after  another, 
and  let  them  float  down  the  stream.  But  Farragut 
sent  out  boats'  crews  to  meet  them,  who  grappled 
them  with  hooks  and  either  towed  them  ashore  or 
conducted  them  past  the  fleet  and  let  them  float 
down  through  the  passes  and  out  to  sea. 

In  his  General  Orders  Farragut  gave  so  many 
minute  directions  that  it  would  seem  as  if  he  must 
have  anticipated  every  possible  contingency.  Thus: 
'•'  Trim  your  vessel  a  few  inches  by  the  head  [that 
is,  place  the  contents  so  that  she  will  sink  a  little 
deeper  at  the  bow  than  at  the  stern],  so  that  if  she 
touches  the  bottom  she  will  not  swing  head  down 
the  river."  "  Have  light  Jacob-ladders  made,  to 
throw  over  the  side  for  the  use  of  the  carpenters 
in  stopping  shot-holes,  who  are  to  be  supplied  with 
pieces  of  inch-board  lined  with  felt,  and  ordinary 
nails."  "  Have  a  kedge  in  the  mizzen  chains  on  the 
quarter,  with  a  hawser  bent  and  leading  through 
in  the  stern  chock,  ready  for  any  emergency ;  also 


1862.]  BREAKING    THE    CHAIN.  I  19 

grapnels  in  boats,  ready  to  tow  off  fire-ships." 
"  Have  many  tubs  of  water  about  the  decks,  both 
for  extinguishing  fire  and  for  drinking."  "  You 
will  have  a  spare  hawser  ready,  and  when  ordered 
to  take  in  tow  your  next  astern  do  so,  keeping  the 
hawser  slack  so  long  as  the  ship  can  maintain  her 
own  position,  having  a  care  not  to  foul  the  propel 
ler."  It  was  this  minute  knowledge  and  fore 
thought,  quite  as  much  as  his  courage  and  deter 
mination,  that  insured  his  success.  In  addition  to 
his  own  suggestions  he  called  upon  his  men  to  ex 
ercise  their  wits  for  the  occasion,  and  the  crews 
originated  many  wise  precautions.  As  the  attack 
was  to  be  in  the  night,  they  painted  the  decks  white 
to  enable  them  to  find  things.  They  got  out  all 
the  spare  chains,  and  hung  them  up  and  down  the 
sides  of  the  vessels  at  the  places  where  they  would 
protect  the  machinery  from  the  enemy's  shot. 
Farragut's  plan  was  to  run  by  the  forts,  damaging 
them  as  much  as  possible  by  a  rapid  fire  as  he 
passed,  then  destroy  or  capture  the  Confederate 
fleet,  and  proceed  up  the  river  and  lay  the  city 
under  his  guns. 

The  time  fixed  upon  for  starting  was  just  before 
moonrise  (3:30  o'clock)  in  the  morning  of  April 
24th.  On  the  night  of  the  2oth  two  gunboats 
went  up  the  river,  and  a  boat's  crew  from  one  of 
them,  under  Lieutenant  Charles  H.  B.  C  aid  well, 
boarded  one  of  the  hulks  and  cut  the  chain,  under 
a  heavy  fire,  making  an  opening  sufficient  for  the 
fleet  to  pass  through.  Near  midnight  of  the  23d 
the  Lieutenant  went  up  again  in  a  gunboat,  to 


I2O  THE    BATTLE    WITH    THE    FORTS.  [1862. 

make  sure  that  the  passage  was  still  open ;  and 
this  time  the  enemy  not  only  fired  on  him  but  sent 
down  blazing  rafts  and  lighted  enormous  piles  of 
wood  that  they  had  prepared  near  the  ends  of  the 
chain.  The  question  of  moonrise  was  no  longer 
of  the  slightest  importance,  since  it  was  as  light 
as  day  for  miles  around.  Two  red  lanterns  dis 
played  at  the  peak  of  the  flag-ship  at  two  o'clock 
gave  the  signal  for  action,  and  at  half-past  three 
the  whole  fleet  was  in  motion. 

The  sloop  "  Portsmouth"  and  Porter's  gunboats 
moved  up  to  a  point  where  they  could  engage  the 
water-battery  of  Fort  Jackson  while  the  fleet  was 
going  by.  The  first  division  of  eight  vessels,  com 
manded  by  Captain  Theodorus  Bailey,  who  was 
almost  as  old  and  as  salt  as  Farragut,  passed 
through  the  opening  in  deliberate  fashion,  unmind 
ful  of  a  fire  from  Fort  Jackson,  ran  over  to  the 
east  bank  and  poured  grape  and  canister  into  Fort 
St.  Philip  as  they  sailed  by,  and  ten  minutes  after 
ward  found  themselves  engaged  at  close  quarters 
with  eleven  Confederate  vessels.  Bailey's  flag 
ship,  the  "  Cayuga,"  was  attacked  by  three  at  once, 
all  trying  to  board  her.  He  sent  an  eleven- 
inch  shot  through  one  of  them,  and  she  ran 
aground  and  burst  into  a  blaze.  With  the  swivel 
gun  on  his  forecastle  he  drove  off  the  second  ;  and 
he  was  preparing  to  board  the  third  when  the 
"Oneida"  and  "Varuna"  came  to  his  assistance. 
The  "  Oneida  "  ran  at  full  speed  into  one  Confed 
erate  vessel,  cutting  it  nearly  in  two  and  in  an  in 
stant  making  it  a  shapeless  wreck.  She  fired  into 


1862.]  THE   BATTLE    WITH    THE    FLEET.  121 

others,  and  then  went  to  the  assistance  of  the 
"Varuna,"  which  had  been  attacked  by  two,  rammed 
by  both  of  them,  and  was  now  at  the  shore, 
where  she  sank  in  a  few  minutes.  But  she  had 
done  effective  work  before  she  perished,  crippling 
one  enemy  so  that  she  surrendered  to  the  "  Onei- 
da,"  driving  another  ashore,  and  exploding  a  shell 
in  the  boiler  of  a  third.  The  "  Pensacola  "  steamed 
slowly  by  the  forts,  doing  great  execution  with  her 
rifled  guns,  and  in  turn  sustaining  the  heaviest 
loss  in  the  fleet  —  thirty-seven  men.  In  an  open 
field  men  can  dodge  a  cannon-ball  ;  but  when  it 
comes  bouncing  in  at  a  port-hole  unannounced,  it 
sometimes  destroys  a  whole  gun's-crew  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye.  In  such  an  action  men  are 
under  the  highest  possible  excitement ;  every 
nerve  is  awake,  and  every  muscle  tense  ;  and  when 
a  ball  strikes  one  it  completely  shatters  him,  as  if 
he  were  made  of  glass,  and  the  shreds  are  scat 
tered  over  the  ship.  The  "  Mississippi"  sailed  up 
in  handsome  style,  encountered  the  Confederate 
ram  "  Manassas,"  and  received  a  blow  that  disabled 
her  machinery.  But  in  turn  she  riddled  the  ram 
and  set  it  on  fire,  so  that  it  drifted  away  and  blew 
up.  The  other  vessels  of  this  division,  with  vari 
ous  fortune,  passed  the  forts  and  participated  in 
the  naval  battle. 

The  second  division  consisted  of  three  sloops  of 
war,  the  flag-ship  leading.  The  "  Hartford"  re 
ceived  and  returned  a  heavy  fire  from  the  forts, 
got  aground  on  a  shoal  while  trying  to  avoid  a 
fire-raft,  and  a  few  minutes  later  had  another  raft 


122       DESTRUCTION    OF    CONFEDERATE    VESSELS.       [1863. 

pushed  against  her,  which  set  her  on  fire.  A  por 
tion  of  the  crew  was  detailed  to  extinguish  the 
flames,  and  all  the  while  her  guns  were  loaded  and 
fired  as  steadily  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 
Presently  she  was  got  afloat  again,  and  proceeded 
up  the  river,  when  suddenly  through  the  smoke, 
as  it  was  lighted  by  the  flashes  of  the  guns,  she 
saw  a  steamer  filled  with  men  bearing  down  upon 
her,  probably  with  the  intention  of  carrying  her  by 
boarding.  But  a  ready  gun  planted  a  huge  shell 
in  the  mysterious  stranger,  which  exploded,  and 
she  disappeared  —  going  to  the  bottom,  for  aught 
that  anybody  knew.  The  "  Brooklyn,"  after  get 
ting  out  of  her  course  and  running  upon  one  of 
the  hulks,  finally  got  through,  met  a  large  Con 
federate  steamer  and  gave  it  a  broadside  that  set 
it  on  fire,  and  then  poured  such  a  rain  of  shot  into 
St.  Philip  that  the  bastions  were  cleared  in  a  min 
ute,  and  in  the  flashes  the  gunners  could  be  seen 
running  to  shelter.  A  Confederate  gunboat  that 
attacked  her  received  eleven  shells  from  her,  all  of 
which  exploded ;  and  it  then  ran  ashore  in  flames. 
The  "  Richmond "  sailed  through  steadily  and 
worked  her  guns  regularly,  meeting  with  small  loss 
because  she  was  more  completely  provided  with 
splinter-nettings  than  her  consorts,  as  well  as  be 
cause  she  came  after  them. 

The  third  division  consisted  of  six  gunboats. 
Two  of  them  became  entangled  among  the  hulks, 
and  failed  to  pass.  Another  received  a  shot  in 
her  boiler,  which  compelled  her  to  drop  down 
stream  and  out  of  the  fight.  The  other  three  went 


1862.]  CAPTURE    OF    NEW    ORLEANS.  123 

through  in  gallant  style,  both  suffering  and  inflict 
ing  considerable  loss  from  continuous  firing,  and 
burned  two  steamboats  and  drove  another  ashore 
before  they  came  up  with  the  advance  divisions  of 
the  fleet.  The  entire  loss  had  been  thirty-seven 
killed  and  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  wounded. 

Captain  Bailey,  in  the  "  Cayuga,"  still  keeping 
the  lead,  found  a  regiment  encamped  at  Quaran 
tine  Station,  and  compelled  its  surrender.  On 
the  morning  of  the  25th  the  Chalmette  batteries, 
three  miles  below  the  city,  were  silenced  by  a  fire 
from  the  sloops,  and  a  little  later  the  city  itself 
was  at  the  mercy  of  their  guns.  At  noon  Captain 
Bailey,  accompanied  only  by  Lieutenant  George 
H.  Perkins,  with  a  flag  of  truce,  went  ashore, 
passed  through  an  excited  crowd  that  appa 
rently  only  needed  a  word  to  be  turned  into 
a  mob,  and  demanded  of  the  Mayor  that  the 
city  be  surrendered  unconditionally  and  the 
Louisiana  State  flag  at  once  hauled  down  from 
the  staff  on  the  City  Hall.  Bailey  raised  the  stars 
and  stripes  over  the  Mint ;  but  the  Mayor  at  first 
refused  to  strike  his  colors,  and  set  out  upon  an 
elaborate  course  of  letter-writing,  which  was  of  no 
consequence  except  as  it  furnished  another  instance 
of  the  fatuity  that  grasps  at  a  shadow  after  the 
substance  is  gone. 

A  letter  written  by  Lieutenant  Perkins  at  the 
time  gives  a  vivid  description  of  this  incident, 
which  is  interesting  in  that  it  exhibits  the  effect 
upon  the  first  people  of  the  South  who  realized  the 
possibility  of  their  being  conquered.  "  Among  the 


124         CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

crowd  were  many  women  and  children,  and  the 
women  were  shaking  rebel  flags  and  being  rude 
and  noisy.  As  we  advanced,  the  mob  followed  us 
in  a  very  excited  state.  They  gave  three  cheers 
for  Jeff.  Davis  and  Beauregard,  and  three  groans 
for  Lincoln.  Then  they  began  to  throw  things  at 
us,  and  shout  '  Hang  them  !  Hang  them  ! '  We 
reached  the  City  Hall  in  safety,  and  there  found 
the  Mayor  and  Council.  They  seemed  in  a  very 
solemn  state  of  mind ;  though  I  must  say,  from 
what  they  said,  they  did  not  impress  me  as  having 
much  mind  about  anything.  The  Mayor  said  he 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  city,  as  it  was  under 
martial  law,  and  we  were  obliged  to  wait  till  Gen 
eral  Lovell  could  arrive.  In  about  half  an  hour 
this  gentleman  appeared.  He  was  very  pompous 
in  his  manner,  and  silly  and  airy  in  his  remarks. 
He  had  about  fifteen  thousand  troops  under  his 
command,  and  said  he  would  '  never  surrender,' 
but  would  withdraw  his  troops  from  the  city  as 
soon  as  possible,  when  the  city  would  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  Mayor,  and  he  could  do  as  he  pleased 
with  it.  The  mob  outside  had  by  this  time  become 
perfectly  infuriated.  They  kicked  at  the  doors, 
and  swore  they  would  have  us  out  and  hang  us. 
Every  person  about  us  who  had  any  sense  of 
responsibility  was  frightened  for  our  safety.  As 
soon  as  the  mob  found  out  that  General  Lovell 
was  not  going  to  surrender,  they  swore  they 
would  have  us  out  any  way;  but  Pierre  Soule  and 
some  others  went  out  and  made  speeches  to  them, 
and  kept  them  on  one  side  of  the  building,  while 


1862.]  CAPTURE   OF    NEW    ORLEANS.  12$ 

we  went  out  at  the  other  and  were  driven  to  the 
wharf  in  a  close  carriage.  The  Mayor  told  the 
Flag-officer  this  morning  that  the  city  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  mob,  and  was  at  our  mercy,  and  that 
he  might  blow  it  up  or  do  with  it  as  he  chose." 

Farragut  appointed  an  hour  for  prayer  and 
thanksgiving  on  the  26th,  and  while  the  services 
were  being  conducted  in  the  fleet  four  citizens 
mounted  to  the  roof  of  the  Mint,  tore  down  the 
United  States  flag,  and  dragged  it  through  the 
streets.  The  leader  in  this  exploit  was  afterward 
tried  for  it,  by  order  of  General  Butler,  and  hanged, 
the  gallows  being  a  beam  run  out  from  one  of 
the  windows  in  the  highest  story  of  that  building. 

On  the  night  of  the  24th,  by  order  of  the  author 
ities  in  the  city,  the  torch  was  applied  to  every 
thing,  except  buildings,  that  could  be  of  use  to  the 
victors.  Fifteen  thousand  bales  of  cotton,  heaps 
of  coal  and  wood,  dry-docks,  a  dozen  steamboats 
and  as  many  cotton-ships,  and  an  unfinished  iron 
clad  ram,  were  all  burned.  Barrels  were  rolled 
out  and  broken  open,  the  levee  ran  with  molasses, 
and  the  poor  people  carried  away  the  sugar  in 
their  baskets  and  aprons.  The  Governor  called 
upon  the  people  of  the  State  to  burn  their  cotton, 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  bales  were 
destroyed. 

Butler  had  witnessed  the  passage  of  the  forts, 
and  he  now  hurried  over  his  troops  and  invested 
St.  Philip  on  the  land  side,  while  Porter  sent  some 
of  his  mortar-boats  to  a  bay  in  the  rear  of  Fort 
Jackson,  and  in  a  few  days  both  works  were  sur- 


126         CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

rendered.  Farragut  sent  two  hundred  and  fifty 
marines  into  the  city  to  take  formal  possession 
and  guard  the  public  buildings.  Butler  arrived 
there  with  his  forces  on  the  ist  of  May,  and  it 
was  then  turned  over  to  him,  and  it  remained  in 
Federal  possession  throughout  the  war.  His  ad 
ministration  of  the  captured  city,  from  May  to 
December,  was  the  subject  of  much  angry  contro 
versy  ;  but  no  one  denies  that  he  reduced  its  tur 
bulence  to  order,  made  it  cleaner  than  it  had  ever 
been  before,  and  averted  a  pestilence.  Of  his 
famous  "  woman  order,"  issued  when  the  annoy 
ances  of  the  women  had  culminated  in  their  spit 
ting  in  the  faces  of  two  officers,  he  was  afterward 
able  to  write  :  "  From  that  day,  no  woman  has 
either  insulted  or  annoyed  any  live  soldier  or  offi 
cer,  and  of  a  certainty  no  soldier  has  insulted  any 
woman." 

At  the  first  news  of  this  achievement  the  people 
of  the  North  hardly  appreciated  what  had  been 
accomplished ;  many  of  their  newspapers  told 
them  that  the  fleet  "  had  only  run  by  the  forts." 
But  as  they  gradually  learned  the  particulars,  and 
saw  that  in  fighting  obstructions,  fire-rafts,  forts, 
rams,  and  fleet,  and  conquering  them  all,  Farragut 
had  done  what  neither  Nelson  nor  any  other  great 
admiral  had  ever  done  before,  they  felt  that  the 
country  had  produced  a  worthy  companion  for  the 
victor  of  Donelson,  and  was  equal  to  all  emerg 
encies,  afloat  or  ashore. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    MONITOR   AND  THE  MERRIMAC. 

WHILE  the  great  naval  expedition  was  approach 
ing  New  Orleans,  the  waters  of  Hampton  Roads, 
from  which  it  had  sailed,  were  the  scene  of  a  battle 
that  revolutionized  the  naval  armaments  of  the 
world.  When  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the 
navy-yard  at  Norfolk,  Va.,  was  abandoned,  with 
an  attempt  at  its  destruction,  the  steam-frigate 
"  Merrimac  "  was  set  on  fire  at  the  wharf.  Her 
upper  works  were  burned,  and  her  hull  sank.  There 
had  been  long  hesitation  about  removing  any  of 
the  valuable  property  from  this  navy-yard,  because 
the  action  of  Virginia  was  uncertain,  and  it  was 
hoped  that  a  mark  of  confidence  in  her  people 
would  tend  to  keep  her  in  the  Union.  The  day 
that  Sumter  was  fired  upon,  peremptory  orders  had 
been  issued  for  the  removal  of  the  "  Merrimac  "  to 
Philadelphia,  and  steam  was  raised  and  every  prep 
aration  made  for  her  sailing.  But  the  officer  in 
command,  for  some  unexplained  reason,  would  not 
permit  her  to  move,  and  two  days  later  she  was 
burned.  Within  two  months  the  Confederates 
were  at  work  upon  her.  They  raised  the  hull, 
repaired  the  machinery,  and  covered  it  with  a  steep 
roof  of  wrought  iron  five  inches  thick,  with  a  lining 


128  THE    MERRIMAC. 

of  oak  seven  inches  thick.  The  sides  were  also 
plated  with  iron,  and  the  bow  was  armed  with  an 
iron  ram,  something  like  a  huge  ploughshare.  In 
the  water  she  had  the  appearance  of  a  house  sub 
merged  to  the  eaves,  with  an  immense  gun  looking 
out  at  each  of  ten  dormer  windows. 

But  all  this  could  not  be  done  in  a  day,  especially 
where  skilled  workmen  were  scarce,  and  it  was 
March,  1862,  before  she  was  ready  for  action.  The 
command  was  given  to  Franklin  Buchanan,  who 
had  resigned  a  commission  in  the  United  States 
navy.  On  the  8th  of  March,  accompanied  by  two 
gunboats,  she  went  out  to  raise  the  blockade  of 
James  and  Elizabeth  rivers  by  destroying  the 
wooden  war-vessels  in  Hampton  Roads.  Her  first 
victim  was  the  frigate  "  Cumberland,"  which  gave 
her  a  broadside  that  would  have  riddled  a  wooden 
vessel  through  and  through.  Some  of  the  shot 
entered  her  open  ports,  killed  or  wounded  nineteen 
men,  and  broke  two  of  her  guns;  but  all  that 
struck  the  armor  bounded  off  like  peas.  Rifled 
shot  from  the  "  Merrimac"  raked  the  "Cumber 
land,"  and  then  she  ran  into  her  so  that  her  iron 
prow  cut  a  great  gash  in  the  side.  The  "  Cumber 
land  "  at  once  began  to  settle ;  but  the  crew 
stood  by  their  guns,  firing  broadside  after  broad 
side  without  producing  any  impression  on  the 
iron  monster,  and  receiving  in  return  shells  and 
solid  shot  that  made  sickening  havoc.  The 
commander,  Lieutenant  Morris,  refused  to  sur 
render  ;  and  at  the  end  of  forty-five  minutes,  when 
the  water  was  at  the  gun-deck,  the  crew  leaped 


1862.] 


SINKING    OF    THE   CUMBERLAND. 


I29 


overboard  and  with  the  help  of  the  boats  got 
ashore,  while  the  frigate  heeled  over  and  sank  to 
the  bottom.  Her  topmasts  projected  above  the 
surface,  and  her  flag  was  flying.  While  this  was 


going  on,  three  Confederate  steamers  came  down 
and  attacked  the  "  Congress "  with  such  effect 
that  her  commander  tried  to  run  her  ashore.  Hav 
ing  finished  the  "Cumberland,"  the  "  Merrimac  " 
came  up  and  opened  a  deliberate  attack  on  the 
"  Congress,"  and  finally  set  her  on  fire,  when  the 
crew  escaped  in  their  boats.  She  burned  for 
several  hours,  and  in  the  night  blew  up.  Of  the 


I3O  THE    MONITOR.  [1862. 

other  National  vessels  in  the  Roads,  one  got 
aground  in  water  too  shallow  for  the  "  Merrimac  " 
to  approach  her,  and  the  others  were  not  drawn 
into  the  fight. 

The  next  morning  the  "  Merrimac  "  came  down 
from  Norfolk  again,  to  finish  up  the  fleet,  but 
found  that  a  new  antagonist  had  just  arrived. 
When  they  first  saw  it,  her  men  called  it  "  a  cheese 
box  on  a  raft."  The  idea  of  a  revolving  tower  or 
turret  for  heavy  guns  was  at -least  half  a  century 
old,  and  had  been  set  forth  by  several  inventors. 
But  it  was  never  put  into  practical  use  till  the 
National  Government  contracted  with  John  Erics 
son  to  build  an  iron-clad  with  such  a  turret  and  a 
deck  rising  hardly  more  than  a  foot  above  the 
water.  She  was  built  in  about  a  hundred  days,  at 
Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  was  named  "  Monitor,"  and  was 
placed  under  the  command  of  Captain  John  L. 
Worden.  He  hurried  her  down  to  Hampton 
Roads,  in  a  stormy  and  dangerous  passage,  and  on 
the  very  morning  after  his  arrival  met  and  fought 
the  "  Merrimac."  Buchanan  had  been  wounded 
in  the  action  of  the  previous  day,  and  Lieutenant 
Jones  now  commanded  the  Confederate  iron-clad. 
The  "  Monitor  "  placed  herself  between  the  wooden 
ships  and  their  enemy,  and  a  fight  of  four  hours 
ensued.  The  shot  of  the  "  Merrimac "  glanced 
off  as  harmlessly  from  the  "  Monitor's"  turret  and 
decks  as  the  "  Cumberland's  "  broadsides  had  from 
hers.  One  shell,  however,  struck  the  little  square 
pilot-house  at  an  instant  when  Captain  Worden  had 
his  eyes  at  the  sight-hole.  The  explosion  tem- 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BOTH    IRON-CLADS.  131 

i 

porarily  blinded  him,  and  the  command  fell  upon 
Lieutenant  Greene.  It  was  not  known  how  much 
damage,  if  any,  the  great  guns,  fired  sometimes 
when  the  vessels  almost  touched  each  other,  had 
inflicted  upon  the  "  Merrimac";  but  she  withdrew 
that  afternoon  to  Norfolk,  and  did  not  come  down 
to  fight  again.  It  was  said  that  before  she  met  the 
"  Monitor  "  she  was  crippled,  having  broken  off 
her  prow  when  she  rammed  the  "  Cumberland," 
and  that  but  for  this  she  might  have  proved  a 
more  formidable  antagonist  to  the  novel  little  craft, 
and  perhaps  could  have  sunk  her;  though  the 
"  Monitor "  had  the  advantage  of  drawing  less 
water,  and  in  some  parts  of  the  Roads  could 
steam  quite  around  the  "  Merrimac." 

In  May,  when  Norfolk  was  captured,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  take  the  "Merrimac"  up  the  James 
River  ;  but  she  got  aground,  and  was  finally  aban 
doned  and  blown  up.  When  the  Confederates  re 
fitted  her  they  re-christened  her  "  Virginia,"  but  the 
original  name  sticks  to  her  in  history.  In  Decem 
ber  of  that  year  the  "Monitor"  attempted  to  go 
to  Beaufort,  N.  C.,  towed  by  a  steamer;  but  she 
foundered  in  a  gale  off  Cape  Hatteras  and  went  to 
the  bottom,  carrying  with  her  a  dozen  of  the  crew. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   CAMPAIGN  OF  SHILOH. 

WHEN  the  first  line  that  the  Confederates  had  at 
tempted  to  establish  from  the  mountains  to  the 
Mississippi  was  broken  by  the  battle  of  Mill 
Springs  and  the  fall  of  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson, 
their  forces  at  Columbus  were  withdrawn  down 
the  river  to  the  historic  latitude  of  36°  30'.  Here 
the  Mississippi  makes  a  great  sigmoid  curve.  In 
the  first  bend  is  Island  No.  10  (the  islands  are 
numbered  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  southward)  ; 
and  at  the  second  bend,  on  the  Missouri  side,  is  New 
Madrid.  Both  of  these  places  were  fortified,  un 
der  the  direction  of  General  Leonidas  Polk,  who 
had  been  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  diocese 
of  Louisiana  for  twenty  years  before  the  war,  but 
entered  the  military  service  to  give  the  Confeder 
acy  the  benefit  of  his  West-Point  education.  A 
floating  dock  was  brought  up  from  New  Orleans, 
converted  into  a  floating  battery,  and  anchored 
near  the  island  ;  and  there  were  also  eight  gunboats 
commanded  by  Commodore  George  N.  Hollins. 
The  works  on  the  island  were  supplemented  by 
batteries  on  the  Tennessee  shore,  back  of  which 
were  impassable  swamps.  Thus  the  Mississippi 
was  sealed,  and  a  position  established  for  the  left 
(or  western  extremity)  of  a  new  line  of  defence. 


1862.]  SIEGE   OF   NEW    MADRID.  133 

Early  in  March,  1862,  a  National  army  com 
manded  by  General  John  Pope  moved  down  the 
west  bank  of  the  Mississippi  against  the  position 
at  New  Madrid.  A  reconnoissance  in  force  de 
monstrated  that  the  place  could  be  carried  by 
storm,  but  could  not  be  held,  since  the  Confed 
erate  gunboats  were  able  (the  river  being  then  at 
high  water)  to  enfilade  both  the  works  and  the 
approaches.  General  Pope  went  into  camp  two 
miles  from  the  river,  and  sent  to  Cairo  for  siege-guns, 
meanwhile  sending  three  regiments  and  a  battery, 
under  General  J.  B.  Plummer,  around  to  a  point 
below  New  Madrid,  where  in  the  night  they  sunk 
trenches  for  the  field-guns  and  placed  sharpshoot 
ers  at  the  edge  of  the  bank,  and  next  day  opened  a 
troublesome  fire  on  the  passing  gunboats  and  trans 
ports.  Four  guns  were  forwarded  promptly  from 
Cairo,  being  taken  across  the  Mississippi  and  over 
a  long  stretch  of  swampy  ground  where  a  road  had 
been  hastily  prepared  for  the  purpose,  and  arriv 
ing  at  dusk  on  the  i2th.  That  night  Pope's  forces 
crowded  back  the  Confederate  pickets,  dug  trench 
es,  and  placed  the  guns  in  position.  The  ene 
my's  first  intimation  of  what  was  going  on  was 
obtained  from  a  bombardment  that  opened  at  day 
light.  The  firing  was  kept  up  through  the  day,  and 
some  damage  was  inflicted  on  both  sides  ;  but  the 
next  night,  in  the  midst  of  a  heavy  storm,  New 
Madrid  was  evacuated.  The  National  forces  took 
possession,  and  immediately  changed  the  positions 
of  the  guns  so  as  to  command  the  river.  On  the 
1 6th  five  Confederate  gunboats  attacked  these  bat- 


134      BOMBARDMENT   OF   ISLAND    NUMBER    TEN.       [1862. 

teries  ;  but  after  one  boat  had  been  sunk  and  some 
of  the  others  damaged,  they  drew  off.  On  the 
1 6th  and  i7th  the  National  fleet  of  gunboats,  un 
der  Commodore  Andrew  H.  Foote,  engaged  the 
batteries  on  Island  No.  10,  and  a  hundred  heavy 
guns  were  in  action  at  once.  The  ramparts  in 
some  places  had  been  weakened  by  the  wash  of 
the  river,  and  the  great  balls  went  right  through 
them.  But  the  artillerymen  stood  to  their  work 
manfully,  many  of  them  in  water  ankle  deep,  and 
though  enormous  shells  exploded  within  the  forts, 
and  one  gun  burst  and  another  was  dismounted, 
the  works  were  not  reduced.  A  gun  that  burst  in 
the  fleet  killed  or  wounded  fourteen  men.  The 
attack  was  renewed  from  day  to  day,  and  one  of 
the  batteries  was  cleared  of  troops,  but  with  no 
decisive  effect. 

At  the  suggestion  of  General  Schuyler  Hamil 
ton,  a  canal  was  cut  across  the  peninsula  formed 
by  the  bend  of  the  river  above  New  Madrid.  This 
task  was  confided  to  a  regiment  of  engineers  com 
manded  by  Colonel  Josiah  W.  Bissell,  and  was 
completed  in  nineteen  days.  The  course  was  some 
what  tortuous,  and  the  whole  length  of  the  canal 
was  twelve  miles.  Half  of  the  distance  lay  through 
a  thick  forest  standing  in  deep  water  ;  but  by  an 
ingenious  contrivance  the  trunks  of  the  trees  were 
sawed  off  four  and  a  half  feet  below  the  surface, 
and  a  channel  fifty  feet  wide  and  four  feet  deep  was 
secured,  through  which  transports  could  be  passed. 

On  the  night  of  April  4th  the  gunboat  "  Caron- 
delet,"  Commander  Henry  Walke,  ran  down  past 


POPES  CAPTURES.  .  135 

the  batteries  of  Island  No.  10,  escaping  serious 
damage,  and  in  the  night  of  the  6th  the  "  Pitts 
burgh  "  performed  the  same  feat.  With  the  help 
of  these  to  silence  the  batteries  on  the  opposite 
shore,  Pope  crossed  in  force  on  the  7th,  and  moved 
rapidly  down  the  little  peninsula.  The  greater 
part  of  the  Confederate  troops  that  had  been  hold 
ing  the  island  now  attempted  to  escape  southward, 
but  were  caught  between  Pope's  army  and  an  im 
passable  swamp,  and  surrendered.  General  Pope's 
captures  in  the  entire  campaign  were  three  gener 
als,  two  hundred  and  seventy-three  officers,  and 
six  thousand  seven  hundred  men,  besides  one 
hundred  and  fifty-eight  guns,  seven  thousand  mus 
kets,  one  gunboat,  a  floating  battery,  six  steamers, 
and  a  considerable  quantity  of  stores. 

On  the  very  day  of  this  bloodless  victory,  alittle 
log  church  in  southwestern  Tennessee  gave  name 
to  the  bloodiest  battle  that  has  been  fought  west 
of  the  Alleghanies  —  Chickamauga  being  rather 
in  the  mountains.  At  Corinth,  in  northern  Mis 
sissippi,  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad 
crosses  the  Mobile  and  Ohio.  This  gave  that 
point  great  strategic  importance,  and  it  was  forti 
fied  accordingly  and  held  by  a  large  Confederate 
force,  which  was  commanded  by  General  Albert 
Sidney  Johnston  (who  must  not  be  confounded 
with  the  Confederate  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston). 
His  lieutenants  were  Generals  G.  T.  Beauregard, 
Braxton  Bragg,  and  William  J.  Hardee.  Gen 
eral  Grant,  who  had  nearly  forty  thousand  men  un 
der  his  command,  and  was  about  to  be  joined  by 


136  THE    POSITION    AT    SHILOH. 

General  Don  Carlos  Buell  coming  from  Nash 
ville  with  as  many  more,  proposed  to  move 
against  Corinth  and  capture  the  place. 

On  Sunday,  April  6th,  Grant's  main  force  was 
at  Pittsburgh  Landing,  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Tennessee,  twenty  miles  north  of  Corinth.  One 
division  under  General  Lew  Wallace  was  at 
Crump's  Landing,  five  miles  farther  north.  The 
advance  division  of  Buell's  army  had  reached  the 
river,  opposite  the  landings,  and  the  remainder 
was  a  march  behind.  For  some  days  Johnston 
had  been  moving  northward  to  attack  Grant,  and 
there  had  been  skirmishing  between  the  outposts. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  he  came  within 
striking  distance,  and  made  a  sudden  and  heavy  at 
tack.  Grant's  line  was  about  two  miles  long,  the 
left  resting  on  Lick  Creek,  an  impassable  stream 
that  flows  into  the  Tennessee  above  Pittsburgh 
Landing,  and  the  right  on  Owl  Creek,  which  flows 
in  below.  General  Benjamin  M.  Prentiss's  division 
was  on  the  left,  General  John  A.  McClernand's  in 
the  center,  and  General  William  T.  Sherman's  on 
the  right.  General  Stephen  A.  Hurlbut's  was  in 
reserve  on  the  left,  and  General  C.  F.  Smith's 
(now  commanded  by  W.  H.  L.  Wallace)  on 
the  right.  There  were  no  intrenchments.  The 
ground  was  undulating,  with  patches  of  woods  al 
ternating  with  cleared  fields,  some  of  which  were 
under  cultivation  and  others  abandoned  and  over 
grown  with  bushes.  A  ridge,  on  which  stood  Shi- 
loh  church,  formed  an  important  key-point  in  Sher 
man's  front. 


1862.] 


JOHNSTON  S    ATTACK, 


137 


General  Grant,  in  his  headquarters  at  Savan 
nah,  down  the  river,  heard  the  firing  while  he  was 
at  breakfast,  and  hurried  up  to  Pittsburgh  Land 
ing.  He  had  ex 
pected  to  be  at 
tacked,  if  at  all, 
at  Crump's  Land 
ing,  and  he  now 
ordered  Lew 
Wallace  with  his 
five  thousand 
men  to  leave  that 
place  and  march 
at  once  to  the 
right  of  the  line  at 
Shiloh  ;  but  Wal 
lace  took  the 
wrong  road,  and 
did  not  arrive 
till  dark.  Neither 
did  General  Wil 
liam  Nelson's  ad 
vance  division  of 
General  Buell's 
army  cross  the 
river  till  evening. 

The  attack  began  at  daybreak,  and  was  made 
with  tremendous  force  and  in  full  confidence  of 
success.  The  nature  of  the  ground  made  regular 
ity  of  movement  impossible,  and  the  battle  was 
rather  a  series  of  assaults  by  separate  columns, 
now  at  one  part  of  the  line  and  now  at  another, 


138          THE    FIRST    DAY'S    BATTLE    OF    SHILOH. 

which  were  kept  up  all  day  with  wonderful  persis 
tence.  Probably  no  army  ever  went  into  action 
with  more  perfect  confidence  in  itself  and  its 
leaders  than  Johnston's.  Beauregard  had  told 
them  they  should  sleep  that  night  in  the  camps  of 
the  enemy,  and  they  did.  He  also  told  them  that 
he  would  water  his  horse  in  the  Tennessee,  but  he 
did  not.  The  heaviest  attacks  fell  upon  Sherman 
and  McClernand,  whose  men  stood  up  to  the  work 
with  unflinching  courage  and  disputed  every  inch 
of  ground.  But  they  were  driven  back  by  over 
whelming  numbers,  which  the  Confederate  com 
manders  poured  upon  them  without  the  slightest 
regard  to  losses.  The  Sixth  Mississippi  regiment 
lost  three  hundred  men  out  of  its  total  of  four 
hundred  and  twenty  five,  and  the  Eighteenth 
Louisiana  lost  two  hundred  and  seven.  Sher 
man's  men  lost  their  camps  in  the  morning,  and 
retired  upon  one  new  line  of  defence  after  an 
other,  till  they  had  been  crowded  back  more  than  a 
mile  ;  but  all  the  while  they  clung  to  the  road  and 
bridge  by  which  they  were  expecting  Lew  Wallace 
to  come  to  their  assistance.  General  Grant  says 
of  an  open  field  on  this  part  of  the  line,  overwhich 
repeated  charges  were  made,  that  it  was  "  so  cov 
ered  with  dead  that  it  would  have  been  possible  to 
walk  across  the  clearing  in  any  direction,  stepping 
on  dead  bodies,  without  a  foot  touching  the  ground. 
On  our  side  National  and  Confederate  troops 
were  mingled  together  in  about  equal  proportions  ; 
but  on  the  remainder  of  the  field  nearly  all  were 
Confederates.  On  one  part,  which  had  evidently 


1862.]  DEATH    OF    GENERAL   JOHNSTON.  139 

not  been  plowed  for  several  years,  bushes  had 
grown  up,  some  to  the  height  of  eight  or  ten  feet. 
Not  one  of  these  was  left  standing  unpierced  by 
bullets.  The  smaller  ones  were  all  cut  down." 

Many  of  the  troops  were  under  fire  for  the  first 
time  ;  but  Sherman's  wonderful  military  genius 
largely  made  up  for  this  deficiency.  One  bullet 
struck  Sherman  in  the  hand,  another  grazed  his 
shoulder,  another  went  through  his  hat,  and  sev 
eral  of  his  horses  were  killed.  A  bullet  struck 
and  shattered  the  scabbard  of  General  Grant's 
sword.  General  W.  H.  L.  Wallace  was  mortally 
wounded.  On  the  other  side,  Generals  Adley  H. 
Gladden  and  Thomas  C.  Hindman  were  killed  ; 
and  about  half-past  two  o'clock  General  Johnston, 
placing  himself  at  the  head  of  a  brigade  that  was 
reluctant  to  attempt  another  charge,  was  struck  in 
the  leg  by  a  Hiinie  ball.  The  wound  need  not 
have  been  mortal ;  but  he  would  not  leave  the  field, 
and  after  a  time  bled  to  death.  The  command 
then  devolved  upon  General  Beauregard. 

In  the  afternoon  a  gap  occurred  between  Gen 
eral  Prentiss's  division  and  the  rest  of  the  line, 
and  the  Confederates  were  prompt  to  take  advan 
tage  of  it.  Rushing  with  a  heavy  force  through 
this  gap,  and  at  the  same  time  attacking  his  left, 
they  doubled  up  both  his  flanks,  and  captured 
that  General  and  two  thousand  two  hundred  of 
his  men.  On  this  part  of  the  field  the  day  was 
saved  by  Colonel  J.  D.  Webster,  of  General 
Grant's  staff,  who  rapidly  got  twenty  guns  into 
position  and  checked  the  Confederate  advance. 


I4O  STRAGGLERS   AND    DESERTERS.  [1862. 

They  then  attempted  to  come  in  on  the  extreme 
left,  along  the  river,  by  crossing  a  ravine.  But 
more  guns  were  brought  up,  and  placed  on  a  ridge 
that  commanded  this  ravine,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  gunboats  ''Tyler  "and  "Lexington"  moved 
up  to  a  point  opposite  and  enfiladed  it  with  their 
fire.  The  result  to  the  Confederates  was  nothing 
but  a  useless  display  of  valor  and  a  heavy  loss. 

The  uneven  texture  of  Grant's  army  had  been 
shown  when  two  green  colonels  led  their  green 
regiments  from  the  field  at  the  first  fire  ;  and  the 
stragglers  and  deserters,  having  no  opportunity  to 
scatter  over  the  country,  necessarily  huddled  them 
selves  together  under  the  bank  of  the  river  at  the 
landing,  where  they  presented  a  pitiful  appear 
ance.  General  Grant  says  there  were  nearly  five 
thousand  of  them.  There  was  about  an  equal 
number  of  deserters  and  stragglers  from  John 
ston's  army ;  but  the  nature  of  the  ground  was  not 
such  as  to  concentrate  them  where  the  eye  could 
take  them  all  in  at  one  grand  review.  With  the 
exception  of  the  break  when  Prentiss  was  cap 
tured,  Grant's  line  of  battle  was  maintained  all 
day,  though  it  was  steadily  forced  back  and  thirty 
guns  were  lost. 

Beauregard  discontinued  the  attack  at  nightfall, 
when  his  right  was  repelled  at  the  ravine,  intend 
ing  to  renew  it  and  finish  the  victory  in  the  morn 
ing.  He  knew  that  Buell  was  expected,  but  did 
not  know  that  he  was  so  near. 

Lew  Wallace  was  now  in  position  on  the  right, 
and  Nelson  on  the  left,  and  all  night  long  the 


;862.J       THE   SECOND   DAYS   BATTLE   OF   SHILOH.         141 

boats  were  plying  back  and  forth  across  the  Ten 
nessee,  bringing  over  Buell's  army.  A  fire  in  the 
woods,  which  sprang  up  about  dusk,  threatened  to 
add  to  the  horrors  by  roasting  many  of  the 
wounded  alive ;  but  a  merciful  rain  extinguished 
it,  and  the  two  armies  lay  out  that  night  in  the 
storm.  A  portion  of  the  Confederates  were  shel 
tered  by  the  captured  tents,  but  on  the  other 
hand  they  were  annoyed  by  the  shells  constantly 
thrown  among  them  by  the  gunboats. 

At  daylight  Grant  assumed  the  offensive,  the 
fresh  troops  on  his  right  and  left  moving  first  to 
the  attack.  Beauregard  now  knew  that  Buell  had 
arrived,  and  he  must  have  known  also  that  there 
could  be  but  one  result ;  yet  he  made  a  stubborn 
fight,  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  holding  the  road 
that  ran  by  Shiloh  church,  by  which  alone  he 
could  conduct  an  orderly  retreat.  The  complete 
upsetting  of  the  Confederate  plans — caused  by  the 
death  of  Johnston,  the  arrival  of  Buell,  and  Grant's 
promptness  in  assuming  the  offensive — is  curiously 
suggested  by  a  passage  in  the  report  of  one  of  the 
Confederate  brigade  commanders :  "  I  was  ordered 
by  General  Ruggles  to  form  on  the  extreme  left, 
and  rest  my  left  on  Owl  Creek.  While  proceed 
ing  to  execute  this  order,  I  was  ordered  to  move 
by  the  rear  of  the  main  line  to  support  the  extreme 
right  of  General  Hardee's  line.  Having  taken  my 
position  to  support  General  Hardee's  right,  I  was 
again  ordered  by  General  Beauregard  to  advance 
and  occupy  the  crest  of  a  ridge  in  the  edge  of  an 
old  field.  My  line  was  just  formed  in  this  position 


142  THE    FINAL    VICTORY. 

when  General  Polk  ordered  me  forward  to  support 
his  line.  When  moving  to  the  support  of  General 
Polk,  an  order  reached  me  from  General  Beaure- 
gard  to  report  to  him  with  my  command  at  his 
headquarters." 

The  fighting  was  of  the  same  general  description 
as  on  the  previous  day,  except  that  the  advantage 
was  now  with  the  National  troops.  Sherman  was 
ordered  to  advance  his  command  and  recapture  his 
camps.  As  these  were  about  Shiloh  church,  and 
that  was  the  point  that  Beauregard  was  most 
anxious  to  hold,  the  struggle  there  was  intense 
and  bloody.  About  the  same  time,  early  in  the 
afternoon,  Grant  and  Beauregard  did  the  same 
thing  :  each  led  a  charge  by  two  regiments  that  had 
lost  their  commanders.  Beauregard's  charge  was 
not  successful ;  Grant's  was,  and  the  two  regiments 
that  he  launched  with  a  cheer  against  the  Confed 
erate  line  broke  it,  and  began  the  rout.  Beaure 
gard  posted  a  rearguard  in  a  strong  position,  and 
withdrew  his  army,  leaving  his  dead  on  the  field, 
while  Grant  captured  about  as  many  guns  on  the 
second  day  as  he  had  lost  on  the  first.  There  was 
no  serious  attempt  at  pursuit,  owing  mainly  to  the 
heavy  rain  and  the  condition  of  the  roads.  The 
losses  on  both  sides  had  been  enormous.  On  the 
National  side  the  official  figures  are  :  1,754  killed, 
8,408  wounded,  2,885  missing;  total  13,047.  On 
the  Confederate  side  they  are  :  1,728  killed,  8,012 
wounded,  957  missing;  total,  10,699.  General 
Grant  says  :  "  This  estimate  must  be  incorrect.  We 
buried,  by  actual  count,  more  of  the  enemy's  dead 


1862.]  THE    LOSSES.  143 

in  front  of  the  divisions  of  McClernand  and  Sher 
man  alone  than  are  here  reported,  and  4,000  was 
the  estimate  of  the  burial  parties  for  the  whole 
field."  At  all  events,  the  loss  was  large  enough  to 
gratify  the  ill-wishers  of  the  American  people,  who 
were  looking  on  with  grim  satisfaction  to  see  them 
destroy  ,one  another.  The  losses  \vere  the  same, 
in  round  numbers,  as  at  the  historic  battle  of  Blen 
heim,  though  the  number  of  men  engaged  was 
fewer  by  one  fourth.  If -we  should  read  in  to-mor 
row's  paper  that  by  some  disaster  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  the  city  of  Concord,  New  Hampshire, 
had  been  either  killed  or  injured,  and  in  the  next 
day's  paper  that  the  same  thing  had  happened  in 
Montgomery,  Alabama,  the  loss  in  life  and  limb 
would  only  equal  what  took  place  on  the  mournful 
field  of  Shiloh. 

After  the  battle,  General  Hallecktook  command 
in  person,  and  proceeded  to  lay  siege  to  Corinth, 
to  capture  it  by  regular  approaches.  Both  he  and 
Beauregard  were  reenforced,  till  each  had  about 
one  hundred  thousand  men.  Halleck  gradually 
closed  in  about  the  place,  till  in  the  night  of  May 
29th  Beauregard  evacuated  it,  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  3oth  Sherman's  soldiers  entered  the  town. 

Some  military  critics  hold  that  the  fate  of  the 
Confederacy  was  determined  on  the  field  of  Shiloh. 
They  point  out  the  fact  that  after  that  battle  there 
was  nothing  to  prevent  the  National  armies  at  the 
West  from  going  all  the  way  to  the  Gulf,  or — as 
they  ultimately  did — to  the  sea.  In  homely  phrase, 
the  back  door  of  the  Confederacy  was  broken  down, 


144  THE    TURNING-POINT    OF   THE    WAR.  [1862. 

and,  however  stubbornly  the  front  door  in  Virginia 
might  be  defended,  it  was  only  a  question  of  time 
when  some  great  army,  coming  in  by  the  rear, 
should  cut  off  the  supplies  of  the  troops  that  held 
Richmond,  and  compel  their  surrender.  Those 
who  are  disposed  to  give  history  a  romantic  turn 
narrow  it  down  to  the  death  of  General  Johnston, 
declaring  that  in  his  fall  the  possibility  of  Southern 
independence  was  lost,  and  if  he  had  lived  the 
result  would  have  been  reversed.  General  Grant 
appears  to  dispose  of  their  theory  when  he  points 
out  the  fact  that  Johnston  was  killed  while  leading 
a  forlorn  hope,  and  remarks  that  there  is  no 
victory  for  anybody  till  the  battle  is  ended,  and 
the  battle  of  Shiloh  was  not  ended  till  the  close  of 
the  second  day.  But,  indeed,  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  fatal  moment  should  not  be  carried  back 
to  the  time  when  the  line  of  defence  from  the 
mountains  to  the  Mississippi  was  broken  through 
at  Mill  Spring  and  Fort  Donelson,  or  even  to  the 
time  when  the  Confederates,  because  of  Ken 
tucky's  refusal  to  leave  the  Union,  were  prevented 
from  establishing  their  frontier  at  the  Ohio.  The 
reason  why  progress  in  conquering  the  Confed 
eracy  was  more  rapid  at  the  West  than  at  the 
East  is  not  to  be  found  so  much  in  any  difference 
in  men  as  in  topography.  At  the  West,  the 
armies  moving  southward  followed  the  courses  of 
the  rivers,  and  their  opponents  were  obliged  to 
maintain  artificial  lines  of  defence  ;  but  the  East 
ern  armies  were  called  upon  to  cross  the  streams 
and  attack  natural  lines  of  defence. 


THE    IMPOSSIBILITY    OF    DEFENCE.  145 

Back  of  all  this,  in  the  logic  of  the  struggle,  is 
the  fact  that  no  defensive  attitude  can  be  main 
tained  permanently.  The  belligerent  that  can  not 
prevent  his  own  territory  from  becoming  the  seat 
of  war  must  ultimately  surrender  his  cause,  no 
matter  how  valiant  his  individual  soldiers  may  be, 
or  how  costly  he  may  make  it  for  the  invader ;  or, 
to  state  it  affirmatively,  a  belligerent  that  can 
carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's  country,  and  keep  it 
there,  will  ultimately  succeed.  In  most  wars,  the 
side  on  whose  soil  the  battles  were  fought  has 
been  the  losing  side ;  and  this  is  an  important  les 
son  to  bear  in  mind  when  it  becomes  necessary  to 
determine  the  great  moral  question  of  responsi 
bility  of  prolonging  a  hopeless  contest. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  PENINSULA  CAMPAIGN. 

WITHIN  twenty-four  hours  after  the  defeat  of 
McDowell's  army  at  Bull  Run  (July  21,  1861)  the 
Administration  called  to  Washington  the  only  man 
that  had  thus  far  accomplished  much  or  made  any 
considerable  reputation  in  the  field.  This  was 
General  George  B.  McClellan.  He  had  been 
graduated  at  West  Point  in  1846,  standing  second 
in  his  class,  and  had  gone  at  once  into  the  Mexican 
war,  in  which  he  acquitted  himself  with  distinction. 
After  that  war  the  young  captain  was  employed 
in  engineering  work  till  1855,  when  the  Government 
sent  him  to  Europe  to  study  the  movements  of 
the  Crimean  war.  He  wrote  a  report  of  his 
observations,  which  was  published  under  the  title 
of  "  The  Armies  of  Europe,"  and  in  1857  resigned 
his  commission  and  became  chief  engineer  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad,  and  afterward  President 
of  the  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati.  He  had  done 
good  work  in  northwestern  Virginia  in  the  early 
summer,  and  now  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  was  com 
missioned  Major-General  in  the  regular  army  of 
the  United  States,  and  given  command  of  all  the 
troops  about  Washington. 

For  the  work  immediately    in    hand,    this  was 
probably  the  best  selection  that  could  have  been 


1862.]  M'CLELLAN    IN    COMMAND.  147 

made.  Washington  needed  to  be  fortified,  and  he 
was  a  master  of  engineering ;  both  the  army  that 
had  just  been  defeated  and  the  new  recruits  that 
were  pouring  in  needed  organization,  and  he 
proved  pre-eminent  as  an  organizer.  Three  months 
after  he  took  command  of  fifty  thousand  uniformed 
men  at  the  capital,  he  had  an  army  of  more  than 
one  hundred  thousand,  well  organized  in  regiments, 
brigades,  and  divisions,  with  the  proper  proportion 
of  artillery,  with  quartermaster  and  commissary 
departments  going  like  clockwork,  and  the  whole 
fairly  drilled  and  disciplined.  Everybody  looked 
on  with  admiration,  and  the  public  impatience 
that  had  precipitated  the  disastrous  "  On  to  Rich 
mond  "  movement  was  now  replaced  by  a  marvel 
lous  patience.  The  summer  and  autumn  months 
went  by,  and  no  movement  was  made  ;  but  McClel- 
lan,  in  taking  command,  had  promised  that  the  war 
should  be  "  short,  sharp,  and  decisive,"  and  the 
people  thought,  if  they  only  allowed  him  time 
enough  to  make  thorough  preparation,  his  great 
army  would  at  length  swoop  down  upon  the  Con 
federate  capital  and  finish  everything  at  one  blow. 
At  length,  however,  they  began  to  grow  weary  of 
the  daily  telegram,  "  All  quiet  along  the  Potomac," 
and  the  monotonously  repeated  information  that 
"  General  McClellan  rode  out  to  Fairfax  Court- 
Houseand  back  this  morning."  The  Confederacy 
was  daily  growing  stronger,  the  Potomac  was 
being  closed  to  navigation  by  the  erection  of  hostile 
batteries  on  its  southern  bank,  the  enemy's  flag 
was  flying  within  sight  from  the  capital,  and  the 


148  M'CLELLAN'S  PLANS. 

question  of  foreign  interference  was  becoming 
exceedingly  grave.  On  the  ist  of  November 
General  Scott,  then  seventy-five  years  of  age, 
retired,  and  McClellan  succeeded  him  as  General- 
in-Chief  of  all  the  armies. 

Soon  after  this  his  plans  appear,  from  subsequent 
revelations,  to  have  undergone  important  modifi 
cation.  He  had  undoubtedly  intended  to  attack 
by  moving  straight  out  toward  Manassas,  where 
the  army  that  had  won  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  was 
still  encamped,  and  was  still  commanded  by 
General  Joseph  E.  Johnston.  He  now  began  to 
think  of  moving  against  Richmond  by  some  more 
easterly  route,  discussing  among  others  the  ex 
treme  easterly  one  that  he  finally  took.  But,  what 
ever  were  his  thoughts  and  purposes,  his  army 
appeared  to  be  taking  root.  The  people  began  to 
murmur,  Congress  began  to  question,  and  the 
President  began  to  argue  and  urge.  All  this  did 
not  signify ;  nothing  could  move  McClellan. 
He  wanted  to  wait  till  he  could  leave  an  enor 
mous  garrison  in  the  defences  of  Washington, 
place  a  strong  corps  of  observation  along  the 
Potomac,  and  then  move  out  with  a  column  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  against  an 
army  that  he  believed  to  be  as  numerous  as  that, 
though  in  truth  it  was  then  less  than  half  as  large. 
It  is  now  known  that,  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  his  career  in  that  war,  General  McClellan 
constantly  over-estimated  the  force  opposed  to  him. 
On  the  loth  of  January,  1862,  the  President  held 
a  long  consultation  with  Generals  McDowell  and 


1862.]  MOVEMENT    BY    THE    PENINSULA.  149 

Franklin  and  some  members  of  his  Cabinet. 
General  McClellan  was  then  confined  to  his  bed 
by  an  illness  of  a  month's  duration.  At  this  con 
sultation  Mr.  Lincoln  said,  according  to  Gen.  Mc 
Dowell's  memorandum,  "  If  something  was  not 
soon  done,  the  bottom  would  be  out  of  the 
whole  affair ;  and  if  General  McClellan  did  not 
want  to  use  the  army,  he  would  like  to  borrow  it, 
provided  he  could  see  how  it  could  be  made  to  do 
something." 

Immediately  upon  McClellan's  recovery,  the 
President  called  him  to  a  similar  council  and  asked 
him  to  disclose  his  plan  for  a  campaign,  which  he 
declined  to  do.  Finally  the  President  asked  him 
if  he  had  fixed  upon  any  particular  time  for  setting 
out ;  and  when  he  said  he  had,  Mr.  Lincoln  ques 
tioned  him  no  further.  A  few  days  later,  in  a  let 
ter  to  the  President,  he  set  forth  his  plan,  which 
was  to  move  his  army  down  the  Potomac  on  trans 
ports,  land  it  at  or  near  Fort  Monroe,  march  up 
the  peninsula  between  York  and  James  rivers,  and 
attack  the  defences  of  Richmond  on  the  north  and 
east  sides.  The  President  at  first  disapproved  of  this 
plan,  largely  for  the  reason  that  it  would  require 
so  much  time  in  preparation  ;  but  when  he  found 
that  the  highest  officers  in  the  army  favored  it, 
and  considered  the  probability  that  any  general 
was  likely  to  fail  if  sent  to  execute  a  plan  he  did 
not  originate  or  believe  in,  he  finally  gave  it  his 
sanction,  and  once  more  set  himself  to  the  difficult 
task  of  inducing  McClellan  to  move  at  all.  And 
yet  the  President  himself  still  further  retarded  the 


I5O  THE    CORPS    COMMANDERS.  [1862. 

opening  of  the  campaign  by  delaying  the  order  to 
collect  the  means  of  transportation.  Meanwhile 
General  Johnston  quietly  removed  his  stores,  and 
on  the  8th  of  March  evacuated  Centreville  and  Man- 
assas,  and  placed  his  army  before  Richmond.  This 
reconciled  the  President  to  McClellan's  plan  of  cam 
paign,  which  he  had  never  liked. 

The  order  for  the  transportation  of  McClellan's 
army  was  issued  on  the  27th  of  February,  and  four 
hundred  vessels  were  required;  for  there  were  actu 
ally  transported  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  thou 
sand  men, fourteen  thousand  animals,forty-four  bat 
teries,  and  all  the  necessary  ambulances  and  bag- 
gage-wagons,pontoons,and  telegraph  material.  Just 
before  the  embarkation,  the  army  was  divided  into 
four  corps,  the  commands  of  which  were  given  to 
Generals  McDowell,  Edwin  V.  Sumner,  Samuel  P. 
Heintzelman,  and  Erasmus  D.  Keyes.  High  au 
thorities  say  this  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  fail 
ure  of  the  campaign  ;  for  the  army  should  have  been 
divided  into  corps  long  before,  when  McClellan 
could  have  chosen  his  own  lieutenants  instead  of 
having  them  chosen  by  the  President  General 
Hooker  said  it  was- impossible  for  him  to  succeed 
with  such  corps  commanders.  But  his  near  ap 
proach  to  success  rather  discredits  this  criticism. 

Another  element  of  the  highest  importance  had 
also  entered  into  the  problem  with  which  the  na 
tion  was  struggling.  This  was  the  appointment 
(January  21,1862)  of  Edwin  M.Stanton  to  succeed 
Simon  Cameron  as  Secretary  of  War.  Mr.  Stan- 
ton,  then  forty-seven  years  of  age,  was  a  lawyer  by 


1862.]  THE    GREAT   WAR    MINISTER.  151 

profession,  a  man  of  great  intellect,  unfailing  nerve, 
and  tremendous  energy.  He  had  certain  traits 
that  often  made  him  personally  disagreeable  to  his 
subordinates  ;  but  it  was  impossible  to  doubt  his 
thorough  loyalty,  and  his  determination  to  find  or 
make  a  way  to  bring  the  war  to  a  successful  close 
as  speedily  as  possible,  without  the  slightest  regard 
to  the  individual  interests  of  himself  or  anybody 
else.  He  was  probably  the  ablest  war  minister 
that  ever  lived — with  the  possible  exception  of  Car- 
not,  the  man  to  whom  Napoleon  said,  "  I  have 
known  you  too  late."  It  is  indicative  of  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  sagacity  and  freedom  from  prejudice,  that 
his  first  meeting  with  Mr.  Stanton  was  when  he 
went  to  Cincinnati,  some  years  before  the  war,  to 
assist  in  trying  an  important  case.  He  found  Mr. 
Stanton  in  charge  of  the  case  as  senior  counsel, 
and  Stanton  was  so  unendurably  disagreeable  to 
him  that  he  threw  up  the  engagement  and  went 
home  to  Springfield.  Yet  he  afterward  gave  that 
man  the  most  important  place  in  his  cabinet,  and 
found  him  its  strongest  member. 

One  division  of  the  army  embarked  on  the  I7th 
of  March,  and  the  others  followed  in  quick  suc 
cession.  General  McClellan  reached  Fort  Mon 
roe  on  the  2d  of  April,  by  which  time  fifty-eight 
thousand  men  and  one  hundred  guns  had  arrived, 
and  immediately  moved  with  this  force  on  York- 
town,  the  place  made  famous  by  the  surrender  of 
Cornwallis  eighty  years  before.  The  Confederates 
had  fortified  this  point,  and  thrown  a  line  of  earth 
works  across  the  narrow  peninsula  to  the  deep 


152  ON   THE   PENINSULA.  ''  [1862. 

water  of  Warwick  River.  These  works  were  held 
by  General  Magruder  with  thirteen  thousand  ef 
fective  men.  General  Johnston,  who  was  in  com 
mand  of  all  the  troops  around  Richmond,  says  he 
had  no  expectation  of  doing  more  than  delaying 
McClellan  at  Yorktown  till  he  could  strengthen 
the  defences  of  the  capital  and  collect  more  men ; 
and  that  he  thought  his  adversary  would  use  his 
transports  to  pass  his  army  around  that  place  by 
water,  after  destroying  the  batteries,  and  land  at 
some  point  above. 

McClellan,  supposing  that  Johnston's  entire 
army  was  in  the  defences  of  Yorktown,  sat  down 
before  the  place  and  constructed  siege  works,  ap 
proaching  the  enemy  by  regular  parallels.  As  the 
remaining  divisions  of  his  army  arrived  at  Fort 
Monroe,  they  were  added  to  his  besieging  force  ; 
but  McDowell's  entire  corps  and  Blenker's  division 
had  been  detached  at  the  last  moment  and  retained 
at  Washington,  from  fears  on  the  part  of  the  ad 
ministration  that  the  capital  was  not  sufficiently 
guarded,  though  McClellan  had  already  left  sev 
enty  thousand  men  there  or  within  call.  The 
fears  were  increased  by  the  threatening  move 
ments  of  Stonewall  Jackson  in  the  Shenajidoah 
valley,  where,  however,  he  was  defeated  by  Gen 
eral  James  Shields  near  Winchester,  March  23. 

General  Johnston  had  to  contend  with  precisely 
the  same  difficulty  that  McClellan  complained  of. 
He  wanted  to  bring  together  before  Richmond  all 
the  troops  that  were  then  at  Norfolk  and  in  the 
Carolinas  and  Georgia,  and  with  the  large  army 


1862.]  BATTLE   OF   WILLIAMSBURG.  153 

thus  formed  suddenly  attack  McClellan  after  he 
should  have  marched  seventy-five  miles  up  the 
peninsula  from  his  base  at  Fort  Monroe.  But 
in  a  council  of  war  General  Lee  and  the  Secretary 
of  War  opposed  this  plan,  and  Mr.  Davis  adopted 
their  views  and  rejected  it.  Johnston  therefore 
undertook  the  campaign  with  the  army  that  he 
had,  which  he  says  consisted  of  fifty  thousand 
effective  men. 

McClellan  spent  nearly  a  month  before  York- 
town,  and  when  he  was  ready  to  open  fire  with  his 
siege  guns  and  drive  out  the  enemy,  May  3d,  he 
found  they  had  quietly  departed,  leaving  "  Quaker 
guns  "  (wooden  logs  on  wheels)  in  the  embrasures. 
There  was  no  delay  in  pursuit,  and  the  National 
advance  came  up  with  the  Confederate  rear  guard 
near  Williamsburg,  about  twelve  miles  from  York- 
town.  Here,  May  4th,  brisk  skirmishing  began, 
which  gradually  became  heavier,  till  reenforce- 
ments  were  hurried  up  on  the  one  side  and  sent 
back  on  the  other,  and  the  skirmish  was  developed 
into  a  battle.  The  place  had  been  well  fortified 
months  before.  The  action  on  the  morning  of  the 
5th  was  opened  by  the  divisions  of  Generals 
Hooker  and  William  F.  Smith.  They  attacked 
the  strongest  of  the  earthworks,  pushed  forward 
the  batteries,  and  silenced  it.  Hooker  was  then 
heavily  attacked  by  infantry,  with  a  constant  men 
ace  on  his  left  wing.  He  sustained  his  position 
alone  nearly  all  day,  though  losing  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  men  and  five  guns,  and  was  at 
length  relieved  by  the  arrival  of  General  Philip 


154  BATTLE    OF    WILLIAMSBURG.  [1862. 

Kearny's  division.  The  delay  was  due  mainly  to 
the  deep  mud  caused  by  a  heavy  rain  the  night 
before.  Later  in  the  day,  Hancock's  brigade  made 
a  wide  circuit  on  the  right,  discovered  some  unoc 
cupied  redoubts,  and  took  possession  of  them. 
When  the  Confederates  advanced  their  left  to  the 
attack,  they  ran  upon  these  redoubts,  which  their 
commanding  officers  knew  nothing  about,  and  were 
repelled  with  heavy  loss.  Hancock's  one  thou 
sand  six  hundred  men  suddenly  burst  over  the 
crest  of  the  works,  and  bore  down  upon  the  enemy 
with  fixed  bayonets,  routing  and  scattering  them. 
McClellan  brought  up  re-enforcements,  and  in  the 
night  the  Confederates  in  front  of  him  moved  off 
to  join  their  main  army,  leaving  in  Williamsburg 
four  hundred  of  their  wounded,  because  they  had  no 
means  of  carrying  them  away,  but  taking  with  them 
about  that  number  of  prisoners.  The  National 
loss  had  been  about  two  thousand  two  hundred, 
the  Confederate  about  one  thousand  eight  hun 
dred.  This  battle  was  fought  within  five  miles  of 
the  historic  site  of  Jamestown,  where  the  first  per 
manent  English  settlement  in  the  United  States 
had  been  made  in  1607,  and  the  first  cargo  of  slaves 
landed  in  1619. 

General  William  B.  Franklin's  division  of 
McDowell's  corps  had  now  been  sent  to  McClel 
lan,  and  immediately  after  the  battle  of  Williams- 
burg  he  moved  it  on  transports  to  White  House, 
at  the  head  of  York  River,  where  it  established  a 
base  of  supplies.  As  soon  as  possible,  also,  the 
main  body  of  the  army  was  marched  from  Wil- 


ON    THE   CHICKAHOMINY. 


155 


liamsburg  to  White  House,  reaching  that  place 
on  the  1 6th  of  May.  From  this  point  he 
moved  westward  toward  Richmond,  expecting 
to  be  joined  by  a  column  of  forty  thousand 
men  under  McDowell,  which  was  to  move  from 


Sf 


CHICKAHOMINY   RIVER 


Fredericksburg.  On  reaching  the  Chickahominy, 
McClellan  threw  his  left  wing  across  that  stream, 
and  sweeping  around  with  his  right  fought 
small  battles  at  Mechanicsville  and  Hanover  Junc 
tion,  by  which  he  cleared  the  way  for  McDowell  to 
join  him.  But  at  this  critical  point  of  time  Stone 
wall  Jackson  suddenly  made  another  raid  down 
the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  McDowell  was  called 
back  to  go  in  pursuit  of  him. 


156  THE    BATTLE    OF    FAIR   OAKS.  [1862. 

Johnston  resolved  to  strike  the  detached  left 
wing  of  the  National  army,  which  had  crossed  the 
Chickahominy  and  advanced  to  within  half  a  dozen 
miles  of  Richmond,  and  his  purpose  was  seconded 
by  a  heavy  rain  on  the  night  of  May  3Oth,  which 
swelled  the  stream  and  swept  away  some  of  the 
bridges,  thus  hindering  reinforcement  from  the 
other  wing.  The  attack,  May  3ist,  fell  first  upon 
General  Silas  Casey's  division  of  Keyes's  corps, 
which  occupied  some  half-finished  works.  It  was 
bravely  made  and  bravely  resisted,  and  the  Con 
federates  suffered  heavy  losses  before  these  works, 
where  they  had  almost  surprised  the  men  with  the 
shovels  in  their  hands.  But  after  a  time  a  Con 
federate  force  made  a  detour  and  gained  a  position 
in  the  rear  of  the  redoubts,  when  of  course  they 
could  no  longer  be  held.  Reinforcements  were 
very  slow  in  coming  up,  and  Keyes's  men  had  a 
long,  hard  struggle  to  hold  their  line  at  all.  They 
could  not  have  done  so  if  a  part  of  Johnston's  plan 
had  not  miscarried.  He  intended  to  bring  in  a 
heavy  flanking  force  between  them  and  the  river, 
but  was  delayed  several  hours  in  getting  it  in  mo 
tion.  Meanwhile  McClellan  ordered  Sumner  to 
cross  the  river  and  join  in  the  battle.  Sumner  had 
anticipated  such  an  order  as  soon  as  he  heard  the 
firing,  and  when  the  order  came  it  found  him  with 
his  corps  in  line,  drawn  out  from  camp,  and  ready 
to  cross  instantly.  He  was  the  oldest  officer  there 
(sixty-six),  and  the  most  energetic.  There  was 
but  one  bridge  that  could  be  used,  many  of  the 
supports  of  this  were  gone,  the  approaches  were 


THE    BATTLE    OF    FAIR   OAKS.  157 

under  water,  and  it  was  almost  a  wreck.  But  he 
unhesitatingly  pushed  on  his  column.  The  frail 
structure  was  steadied  by  the  weight  of  the  men ; 
and  though  it  swayed  and  undulated  with  their 
movement  and  the  rush  of  the  water,  they  all 
crossed  in  safety. 

Sumner  was  just  in  time  to  meet  the  flank  attack, 
which  was  commanded  by  Johnston  in  person. 
The  successive  charges  of  the  Confederates  were 
all  repelled,  and  at  dusk  a  counter-charge  cleared 
the  ground  in  front  and  drove  off  the  last  of  them 
in  confusion.  In  this  fight  General  Johnston  re 
ceived  wounds  that  compelled  him  to  retire  from 
the  field,  and  laid  him  up  for  a  long  time.  The 
battle — which  is  called  both  Fair  Oaks  and  Seven 
Pines — cost  the  National  army  over  five  thousand 
men,  and  the  Confederate  nearly  seven  thousand. 

For  some  time  after  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks 
heavy  rains  made  any  movement  almost  impos 
sible  for  either  of  the  armies  that  confronted 
each  other  near  Richmond.  General  Alexander 
S.  Webb  says  :  "  The  ground,  which  consisted  of 
alternate  layers  of  reddish  clay  and  quicksand,  had 
turned  into  a  vast  swamp,  and  the  guns  in  battery 
sank  into  the  earth  by  their  own  weight."  Mc- 
Clellan  kept  his  men  at  work,  intrenching  and 
strengthening  his  position,  while  he  himself  seems 
to  have  been  constantly  occupied  in  writing  des 
patches  to  the  President  and  the  Secretary  of 
War,  alternately  promising  an  almost  immediate 
advance  on  Richmond  and  calling  for  reinforce 
ments.  He  wanted  McDowell's  corps  of  forty 


158  THE    DEADLY    SWAMPS.  [1862. 

thousand  men,  and  the  authorities  wanted  to  give 
it  to  him  if  it  could  be  sent  by  way  of  Fredericks- 
burg  and  united  with  his  right  wing  in  such  a  way 
as  not  to  uncover  Washington.  But  in  one  des 
patch  he  declared  he  would  rather  not  have  it  at 
all  unless  it  could  be  placed  absolutely  under  his 
command.  His  position  was  in  several  respects 
very  bad.  The  Chickahominy  was  bordered  by 
great  swamps,  whose  malarial  influences  robbed 
him  of  almost  as  many  men  as  fell  by  the  bullets 
of  the  enemy.  His  base  was  at  White  House,  on 
the  Pamunkey  ;  and  the  line  thence  over  which 
his  supplies  must  come,  instead  of  being  at  right 
angles  with  the  line  of  his  front  and  covered  by  it, 
was  almost  a  prolongation  of  it.  It  was  impossible 
to  maintain  permanent  bridges  over  the  Chicka 
hominy,  and  a  rain  of  two  or  three  days  was  liable 
at  any  time  to  swell  the  stream  so  as  to  sweep 
away  every  means  of  crossing.  He  could  threaten 
Richmond  only  by  placing  a  heavy  force  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river ;  he  could  render  his  own 
communications  secure  only  by  keeping  a  large 
force  on  the  left  bank.  When  it  first  occurred  to 
him  that  his  true  base  was  on  the  James,  or  how 
long  he  contemplated  its  removal  thither,  nobody 
knows  ;  but  he  received  a  startling  lesson  on  the 
1 2th  of  June,  which  seems  to  have  determined  his 
apparently  indeterminate  mind. 

When  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  was  wounded 
at  Fair  Oaks,  the  command  devolved  upon  General 
G.  W.  Smith  ;  but  two  days  later  General  Robert 
E.  Lee  was  given  the  command  of  the  Confederate 


1862.]  STRENGTH    OF    THE   ARMIES.  159 

forces  in  Virginia,  which  he  retained  continuously 
till  his  surrender  brought  the  war  to  a  close.  The 
plan  that  he  had  opposed,  and  caused  Mr.  Davis 
to  reject,  when  Johnston  was  in  command  —  of 
bringing  large  bodies  of  troops  from  North  Caro 
lina,  Georgia,  and  the  Shenandoah  valley,  to  form 
a  massive  army  and  fall  upon  McClellan-—  he  now 
adopted  and  proceeded  at  once  to  carry  out. 
Johnston  enumerates  reinforcements  that  were 
given  him  aggregating  fifty-three  thousand  men,  and 
says  he  had  then  the  largest  Confederate  army  that 
ever  fought.  The  total  number  is  given  officially 
at  80,762.  This  probably  means  the  number  of 
men  actually  carrying  muskets,  and  excludes  all 
officers,  teamsters,  musicians,  and  mechanics  ;  for 
the  Confederate  returns  were  generally  made  in 
that  way.  McClellan's  total  effective  force, 
including  every  man  that  drew  pay  the  last  week 
in  June,  was  92,500.  His  constant  expectation  of 
reinforcements  by  way  of  Fredericksburg  was 
largely,  if  not  wholly,  what  kept  him  in  his  false 
position,  and  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  but  for  this 
he  would  have  swung  across  the  peninsula  to  the 
new  base  on  the  James  much  sooner  and  under 
more  favorable  circumstances. 

Wishing  to  know  the  extent  of  McClellan's  earth 
works  on  the  right  wing,  Lee,  on  June  I2th,  sent  a 
body  of  twelve  hundred  cavalry,  with  two  light 
guns,  to  reconnoitre.  It  was  commanded  by  the 
dashing  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  commonly  called 
"  Jeb  Stuart,"who  used  to  dress  in  gay  costume,  with 
yellow  sash  and  black  plume,  wore  gold  spurs,  and 


160  STUART'S  RAID. 

rode  a  white  horse.  He  was  only  ordered  to  go 
as  far  as  Hanover  Old  Church;  but  at  that  point 
he  had  a  fight  with  a  small  body  of  cavalry,  and 
as  he  supposed  dispositions  would  be  made  to  cut 
him  off,  instead  of  returning,  he  kept  on  and  made 
the  entire  circuit  of  McClellan's  army,  rebuilding 
a  bridge  to  cross  the  lower  Chickahominy,  and 
reached  Richmond  in  safety.  The  actual  amount 
of  damage  that  he  had  done  was  small ;  but  the 
raid  alarmed  the  National  commander  for  the 
safety  of  his  communications,  and  was  probably 
what  determined  him  to  change  his  base. 

Stonewall  Jackson,  if  not  Lee's  ablest  lieutenant, 
was  certainly  his  swiftest,  and  the  one  that  threw 
the  most  uncertainty  into  the  game  by  his  rapid 
movements  and  unexpected  appearances.  At  a  later 
stage  of  the  war  his  erratic  strategy,  if  persisted  in, 
would  probably  have  brought  his  famous  corps  of 
"  foot  cavalry  "  (as  they  were  called  from  their  quick 
marches)  to  sudden  destruction.  An  opponent 
like  Sheridan,  who  knew  how  to  be  swift,  brilliant, 
and  audacious,  without  transgressing  the  funda 
mental  rules  of  warfare,  would  have  been  likely  to 
finish  him  at  a  blow.  But  Jackson  did  not  live  to 
meet  such  an  opponent.  At  this  time  the  bug 
bears  that  haunt  imaginations  not  inured  to  war 
were  still  in  force,  and  the  massive  thimble-rigging 
by  which  he  was  made  to  appear  before  Richmond, 
and  presto  !  sweeping  down  the  Shenandoah  Valley, 
served  to  paralyze  large  forces  that  might  have 
been  added  to  McClellan's  army. 

The  topography  of  Virginia  is  favorable  to  an 


1862.]        JACKSON'S  MYSTERIOUS  MOVEMENTS.         161 

army  menacing  Washington,  and  unfavorable  to 
one  menacing  Richmond.  The  fertile  valley  of 
the  Shenandoah  was  inviting  ground  for  soldiers. 
A  Confederate  force  advancing  down  the  valley 
came  at  every  step  nearer  to  the  National  capital, 
while  a  National  force  advancing  up  the  valley 
was  carried  at  every  step  farther  away  from  the 
Confederate  capital.  The  Confederates  made 
much  of  this  advantage,  and  the  authorities  at 
Washington  were  in  constant  fear  of  the  capture  of 
that  city. 

Soon  after  Stuart's  raid,  Lee  began  to  make  his 
dispositions  to  attack  McClellan  and  drive  him 
from  the  peninsula.  He  wrote  to  Jackson  :  "  Un 
less  McClellan  can  be  driven  out  of  his  intrench- 
ments,  he  will  move  by  positions,  under  cover  of 
his  heavy  guns,  within  shelling  distance  of  Rich 
mond."  To  convey  the  impression  that  Jackson 
was  to  move  in  force  down  the  valley,  Lee  drew 
two  brigades  from  his  own  army,  placed  them  on 
the  cars  in  Richmond  in  plain  sight  of  some  prison 
ers  that  were  about  to  be  exchanged,  and  sent 
them  off  to  Jackson.  Of  course  the  released  prison 
ers  carried  home  the  news.  But  Jackson  returned 
with  these  reinforcements  and  Ewell's  division  of 
his  corps,  joined  Lee,  and  on  the  25th  of  June  con 
certed  a  plan  for  immediate  attack.  Secretary 
Stanton  appears  to  have  been  the  only  one  that 
saw  through  the  game  ;  for  he  telegraphed  to 
McClellan  that  while  neither  Banks  nor  McDowell 
nor  Fremont  could  ascertain  anything  about  Jack 
son's  movements,  his  own  belief  was  that  he  was 


1 62  NEAREST    APPROACH    TO    RICHMOND. 

going  to  Richmond.  Yet  the  impression  was  not 
strong  enough  in  the  mind  of  the  Secretary  of 
War  (or  else  the  secretary  could  not  have  his  own 
way)  to  induce  the  appropriate  counter-move  of 
immediately  sending  McDowell's  whole  corps  to 
McClellan.  McCall's  division  of  that  corps,  how. 
ever,  had  been  forwarded,  and  on  the  i8th  took  a 
strong  position  on  McClellan's  extreme  right,  near 
Mechanicsville. 

On  the  25th  McClellan  had  pushed  back  the 
Confederates  on  his  left,  taken  a  new  position 
there,  and  advanced  his  outposts  to  a  point  only 
four  miles  from  Richmond.  But  he  began  his 
movements  too  late,  for  the  Confederates  were 
already  in  motion.  Leaving  about  thirty  thousand 
men  in  the  immediate  defences  of  Richmond,  Lee 
crossed  the  Chickahominy  with  about  thirty-five 
thousand  under  Generals  A.  P.  Hill,  D.  H.  Hill, 
and  Longstreet,  intending  to  join  Jackson's  twenty- 
five  thousand,  and  with  this  enormous  force  make 
a  sudden  attack  on  the  twenty  thousand  National 
troops  that  were  on  the  north  side  of  the  river, 
commanded  by  General  Fitz  John  Porter,  destroy 
them  before  help  could  reach  them,  and  seize  Mc 
Clellan's  communications  with  his  base.  Jackson, 
who  was  to  have  appeared  on  the  field  at  sunrise 
of  the  26th,  was  for  once  behind  time.  The  other 
Confederate  commanders  became  nervous  and  im 
patient  ;  for  if  the  movement  were  known  to  Mc 
Clellan,  he  could,  with  a  little  boldness  and  some 
fighting,  have  captured  Richmond  that  day.  In 
deed,  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  expected  nothing 


IYERSITT; 

ACTION    AT    BEAVER    DAM    CREEK.  II 

else,  and  it  is  said  that  the  archives  of  the  Confed 
erate  Government  were  all  packed  and  ready  for 
instant  removal.  At  midday  General  A.  P.  Hill's 
corps  drove  the  small  National  force  out  of 
Mechanicsville,  and  advanced  to  McCall's  strong 
position  on  Beaver  Dam  Creek.  This  they  dared 
not-  attack  in  front  ;  but  they  made  desperate 
attempts  on  both  flanks,  and  the  result  was  an 
afternoon  of  fruitless  fighting,  in  which  they  were 
literally  mown  down  by  the  well-served  artillery 
and  lost  upward  of  three  thousand  men,  while  Mc- 
Call  maintained  his  position  at  every  point  and 
lost  fewer  than  three  hundred. 

That  night,  in  pursuance  of  the  plan  for  a  change 
of  base,  the  heavy  guns  that  had  thwarted  Lee  in 
his  first  attack  were  carried  across  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  together  with  a  large  part  of  the  baggage 
train.  On  the  morning  of  the  2  7th  Porter  fell 
back  somewhat  to  a  position  on  a  range  of  low 
hills,  where  he  could  keep  the  enemy  in  check  till 
the  stores  were  removed  to  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  which  was  now  his  only  object.  McClellan 
sent  him  five  thousand  more  men  in  the  course  of 
the  day,  being  afraid  to  send  any  greater  number, 
because  he  believed  that  the  bul^  of  the  Confed 
erate  army  was  in  the  defences  on  his  left,  and  a 
show  of  activity  there  still  further  deceived  him. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th  Porter  had  eighteen 
thousand  infantry,  two  thousand  five  hundred  artil 
lerymen,  and  a  small  force  of  cavalry,  with  which 
to  meet  the  attack  of  at  least  fifty-five  thousand. 
Longstreet  and  the  Hills  had  followed  the  retreat 


164  BATTLE   OF    GAINES's    MILLS.  [1862. 

closely,  but,  warned  by  the  experience  of  the  day 
before,  were  not  willing  to  attack  until  Jackson 
should  join  them.  The  fighting  began  about  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  A.  P.  Hill  assaulted 
the  centre  of  Porter's  position,  and  in  a  two-hours' 
struggle  was  driven  back  with  heavy  loss.  Two 
attacks  on  the  right  met  with  no  better  success. 
The  effect  on  the  new  troops  that  had  been  hur 
ried  up  from  the  coast  was  complete  demoraliza 
tion.  The  Confederate  General  Whiting  says  in 
his  report :  "  Men  were  leaving  the  field  in  every 
direction,  and  in  great  disorder.  Two  regiments, 
one  from  South  Carolina  and  one  from  Louisiana, 
were  actually  marching  back  from  the  fire.  Men 
were  skulking  from  the  front  in  a  shameful 
manner." 

But  at  length  Jackson's  men  arrived,  and  a  de 
termined  effort  was  made  on  all  parts  of  the  line 
at  once.  Even  then  it  seemed  for  a  time  as  if  vic 
tory  might  rest  with  the  little  army  on  the  hills ; 
and  in  all  probability  it  would,  if  they  had  had  such 
intrenchments  as  the  men  afterward  learned  how 
to  construct  very  quickly  ;  but  their  breastworks 
were  only  such  as  could  be  made  from  hastily  felled 
trees,  a  few  rails,  and  heaps  of  knapsacks.  The 
Confederates  had  the  advantage  of  thick  woods  in 
which  to  form  and  advance.  As  they  emerged 
and  came  on  in  heavy  masses,  with  the  Confeder 
ate  yell,  they  were  answered  by  the  Union  cheer. 
Volley  responded  to  volley,  guns  were  taken  and 
re-taken,  and  cannoniers  that  remained  after  the 
infantry  supports  retired  were  shot  down ;  but  it 


CROSSING    THE    CHICKAHOMINY.  165 

was  not  till  sunset  that  the  National  line  was  fairly 
disrupted,  at  the  left  centre,  when  the  whole  gave 
way  and  slowly  retired.  Two  regiments  were  cap 
tured,  and  twenty-two  guns  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy.  In  the  night  Porter  crossed  the  river 
with  his  remaining  force,  and  destroyed  the 
bridges.  This  was  called  by  the  Confederates  the 
battle  of  the  Chickahominy  ;  but  it  takes  its  better 
known  name  from  two  mills  (Gaines's)  near  the 
scene  of  action.  The  total  National  loss  was  six 
thousand  men.  The  Confederate  loss  was  never 
properly  ascertained,  which  renders  it  probable 
that  it  was  much  larger.  Some  of  the  wounded 
lay  on  the  field  four  days  uncared  for.  This  action 
is  sometimes  called  the  first  battle  of  Cold  Harbor. 
The  armies  under  Grant  and  Lee  fought  on  the 
same  ground  two  years  later. 

Lee  and  Jackson  believed  that  they  had  been 
fighting  the  whole  of  McClellan's  forces,  and  an 
other  mistake  that  they  made  secured  the  safety 
of  that  army.  They  took  it  for  granted  that  the 
National  commander,  driven  from  his  base  at 
White  House,  would  retreat  down  the  peninsula, 
taking  the  same  route  by  which  he  had  come. 
Consequently  they  remained  with  their  large  force 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Chickahominy,  and  even 
advanced  some  distance  down  the  stream,  which 
gave  McClellan  twenty-four  hours  of  precious  time 
to  get  through  the  swamp  roads  with  his  immense 
trains.  He  had  five  thousand  loaded  wagons,  and 
two  thousand  five  hundred  head  of  cattle.  General 
Silas  Casey's  division,  in  charge  of  the  stores  at 


1 66  BATTLE    OF    SAVAGE'S    STATION.  [1862. 

White  House,  loaded  all  they  could  upon  trans 
ports,  and  destroyed  the  remainder.  Trains  of 
cars  filled  with  supplies  were  put  under  full  speed 
and  run  off  the  tracks  into  the  river.  Hundreds  of 
tons  of  ammunition,  and  millions  of  rations,  were 
burned  or  otherwise  destroyed.  At  the  last  mo 
ment  Casey  embarked  his  men,  and  with  what  he 
had  been  able  to  save  steamed  down  the  Pamun- 
key  and  York  rivers  and  up  the  James  to  the  new 
base.  At  the  close  of  a  long  despatch  to  the  Sec 
retary  of  War  on  the  28th,  General  McClellan 
said  :  "  If  I  save  this  army  now,  I  tell  you  plainly 
that  I  owe  no  thanks  to  you  or  to  any  other 
persons  in  Washington.  You  have  done  your 
best  to  sacrifice  this  army." 

When  Gen.  John  B.  Magruder,  who  had  been 
left  in  the  defences  of  Richmond,  found  that  the 
National  army  was  retreating  to  the  James,  he 
moved  out  to  attack  it,  and  struck  the  rear  guard 
at  Allen's  farm.  His  men  made  three  assaults, 
and  were  three  times  repelled.  Magruder  com 
plained  that  he  lost  a  victory  here  because  Lee  had 
left  him  but  thirteen  thousand  men. 

The  National  troops  fell  back  to  Savage's  Sta 
tion,  where  later  in  the  day  Magruder  attacked  them 
again.  He  had  a  rifled  cannon  mounted  on  a  plat 
form  car,  with  which  he  expected  to  do  great  exe 
cution.  But  there  was  an  ample  force  to  oppose 
him,  and  it  stood  unmoved  by  his  successive 
charges.  About  sunset  he  advanced  his  whole 
line  with  a  desperate  rush  in  the  face  of  a  continu 
ous  fire  of  cannon  and  musketry  ;  but  it  was  of  no 


BATTLE    OF    CHARLES    CITY    CROSS-ROADS.         167 

avail,  and  half  an  hour  later  his  own  line  was 
broken  by  a  counter  charge  that  closed  the  battle. 
He  admitted  a  loss  of  four  thousand  men.  Sum- 
ner  and  Franklin,  at  a  cost  of  three  thousand,  had 
thus  maintained  the  approach  to  the  single  road 
through  White  Oak  Swamp,  by  which  they  were 
to  follow  the  body  of  the  army  that  had  already 
passed.  But  it  was  found  necessary  to  burn  an 
other  immense  quantity  of  food  and  clothing  that 
could  not  be  removed,  and  to  leave  behind  two 
thousand  five  hundred  sick  and  wounded  men. 

Jackson,  after  spending  a  day  in  building  bridges, 
crossed  the  Chickahominy,  and  attempted  to  fol 
low  McClellan's  rear  guard  through  White  Oak 
Swamp;  but  when  he  got  to  the  other  side  he 
found  a  necessary  bridge  destroyed  and  National 
batteries  commanding  its  site,  so  that  it  was  im 
possible  for  his  forces  to  emerge  from  the  swamp. 
But  meanwhile  Hill  and  Longstreet  had  crossed 
the  river  farther  up  stream,  marched  around  the 
swamp,  and  struck  the  retreating  army  near  Charles 
City  Cross-Roads  on  the  3Oth.  There  was  terrific 
fighting  all  the  afternoon.  There  were  brave 
charges  and  bloody  repulses,  masses  of  men  mov 
ing  up  steadily  in  the  face  of  batteries  that  tore 
great  gaps  through  them  at  every  discharge, 
crossed  bayonets,  and  clubbed  muskets.  Only  on 
that  part  of  the  line  held  by  McCall  did  the  Con 
federates,  with  all  their  daring,  succeed  in  breaking 
through.  McCall,  in  his  report,  describes  the  suc 
cessful  charge  :  "  A  most  determined  charge  was 
made  on  Randol's  battery  by  a  full  brigade,  ad- 


1 68        BATTLE   OF    CHARLES   CITY    CROSS-ROADS.        [1862. 

vancing  in  wedge  shape,  without  order,  but  in  per 
fect  recklessness.  Somewhat  similar  charges  had 
been  previously  made  on  Cooper's  and  Kern's  bat 
teries  by  single  regiments,  without  success,  they 
having  recoiled  before  the  storm  of  canister  hurled 
against  them.  A  like  result  was  anticipated  by 
Randol's  battery,  and  the  4th  Regiment  was  re 
quested  not  to  fire  until  the  battery  had  done  with 
them.  Its  gallant  commander  did  not  doubt  his 
ability  to  repel  the  attack,  and  his  guns  did  indeed 
mow  down  the  advancing  host ;  but  still  the  gaps 
were  closed,  and  the  enemy  came  in  upon  a  run  to 
the  very  muzzles  of  his  guns.  It  was  a  perfect  tor 
rent  of  men,  and  they  were  in  his  battery  before 
the  guns  could  be  removed."  General  McCall  him 
self,  endeavoring  to  rally  his  men  at  this  point, 
was  captured  and  carried  off  to  Richmond.  In 
Kearny's  front  a  similar  charge  was  made  three 
times  ;  but  every  time  a  steady  musketry  fire  drove 
back  the  enemy  that  had  closed  up  its  gaps  made 
by  the  artillery.  Darkness  put  an  end  to  the  fight 
ing,  and  that  night  McClellan's  army  continued  its 
retreat  to  Malvern  Hill,  where  his  advance  guard 
had  taken  up  the  strongest  position  he  had  yet  oc 
cupied.  The  battle  just  described  has  several 
names — Glendale,  Frazier's  Farm,  Charles  City 
Cross-Roads,  Newmarket,  Nelson's  Farm.  Mc- 
Clellan  here  lost  ten  guns.  The  losses  in  men  can 
not  be  known  exactly,  as  the  reports  group  the 
losses  of  several  days  together.  Longstreet  and 
the  two  Hills  reported  a  loss  of  12,458  in  the  fight 
ing  from  the  27th  to  the  3Oth. 


1862.] 


BATTLE    OF    MALVERN    HILL. 


169 


The  last  stand  made  by  McClellan  for  deliver 
ing  battle  was  at  Malvern  Hill.  This  is  a  plateau 
near  Turkey  Bend  of  James  River,  having  an  ele 
vation  of  sixty  feet,  and  an  extent  of  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  in  one 
direction  and  a 
mile  in  the  other. 
It  is  so  bordered 
by  streams  and 
swamps  as  to  leave 
no  practicable  ap 
proach  except  by 
the  narrow  north 
west  face.  Here 
McClellan  had  his 
entire  army  in 
position  when  his 
pursuers  came  up. 
It  was  disposed  in 
the  form  of  a  semi- 
circle,  with  the 
right  wing  "  re- 
fused  "  (swung 
back)  and  pro 
longed  to  Haxall's  Landing,  on  the  James.  His 
position  was  peculiarly  favorable  for  the  use  of  ar 
tillery,  and  his  whole  front  bristled  with  it.  There 
were  no  intrenchments  to  speak  of,  but  the  natural 
inequalities  of  the  ground  afforded  considerable 
shelter  for  the  men  and  the  guns.  It  was  as  com 
plete  a  trap  as  could  be  set  for  an  army,  and  Lee 
walked  straight  into  it.  Under  ordinary  circum- 


I7O  BATTLE    OF    MALVERN    HILL.  [1862. 

stances,  both  commander  and  men  would  properly 
hesitate  to  attack  an  enemy  so  posted.  But  to  the 
confidence  with  which  the  Southerners  began  the 
war  was  now  added  the  peculiar  elation  produced 
by  a  week's  pursuit  of  a  retreating  army  ;  and  ap 
parently  it  did  not  occur  to  them  that  they  were 
all  mortal. 

In  the  first  contact  seven  thousand  Confederates, 
with  six  guns,  struck  the  left  of  the  position.  They 
boldly  advanced  their  artillery  to  within  eight 
hundred  yards  of  the  cliff ;  but  before  they  could 
get  at  work  a  fire  of  twenty  or  thirty  guns  was  con 
centrated  upon  their  battery,  which  knocked  it  to 
pieces  in  a  few  minutes  ;  and  at  the  same  time 
some  huge  shells  from  a  gunboat  fell  among  a 
small  detachment  of  cavalry,  threw  it  into  confu 
sion,  and  turned  it  back  upon  the  infantry,  break 
ing  up  the  whole  attack. 

Lee  was  not  ready  to  assault  with  his  whole 
army  till  the  afternoon  of  July  ist.  An  artillery 
duel  was  kept  up  during  the  forenoon  ;  but  the 
Confederate  commander  did  not  succeed  in  de 
stroying  the  National  batteries  as  he  hoped  to  ;  on 
the  contrary,  he  saw  his  own  disabled,  one  after 
another.  The  signal  for  the  infantry  attack  was 
to  be  the  usual  yell,  raised  by  Armistead's  division 
on  the  right  and  taken  up  by  the  successive  divis 
ions  along  the  line.  But  the  Confederate  line  was 
separated  by  thick  woods,  there  was  long  waiting 
for  the  signal,  some  of  the  generals  thought  they 
heard  it,  and  some  advanced  without  hearing  it. 
The  consequence  was  a  series  of  separate  attacks, 


1862.]  M'CLELLAN    REACHES    THE   JAMES.  17! 

some  of  them  repeated  three  or  four  times,  and 
every  time  a  concentrated  fire  on  the  attacking 
column  and  a  bloody  repulse.  The  men  themselves 
began  to  see  the  hopelessness  of  it,  while  their 
officers  were  still  urging  them  to  renewed  efforts. 
"  Come  on,  come  on,  my  men,"  said  one  Confed 
erate  colonel,  with  the  grim  humor  of  a  soldier ; 
"  do  you  want  to  live  forever  ?"  There  were  some 
brief  counter-charges,  in  one  of  which  the  colors 
were  taken  from  a  North  Carolina  regiment ;  but 
in  general  the  National  troops  only  maintained 
their  ground,  and  though  fighting  was  kept  up  till 
nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  line — as  General 
Webb,  then  assistant  chief  of  artillery,  tells  us — 
was  never  for  one  instant  broken  or  the  guns  in 
danger.  This  battle  cost  Lee  five  thousand  men, 
and  at  its  close  he  gave  up  the  pursuit.  The 
National  loss  was  less  than  one  third  as  great. 
That  night  McClellan  withdrew  his  army  to  Har 
rison's  Landing,  on  the  James,  where  he  had  fixed 
his  base  of  supplies  and  where  the  gunboats  could 
protect  his  position.  This  retreat  is  known  as  the 
Seven  Days,  and  the  losses  are  figured  up  at 
15,249  on  the  National  side,  and  somewhat  over 
19,000  on  the  Confederate. 

From  this  time  there  was  an  angry  controversy 
as  to  the  military  abilities  of  General  McClellan 
and  the  responsibility  for  the  failure  of  the  cam 
paign,  and  partisanship  was  never  more  violent 
than  over  this  question.  The  General  had  won 
the  highest  personal  regard  of  his  soldiers,  and 
they  were  mostly  unwilling  or  unable  to  look  at 


172  THE    M'CLELLAN    CONTROVERSY. 

the  matter  in  the  cold  light  of  the  criticism  that 
simply  asks  What  was  required?  and  What  was 
accomplished  ?  The  truth  appears  to  be,  that 
General  McClellan,  like  most  men,  possessed  some 
virtues  and  lacked  others.  He  organized  a  great 
army,  and  to  the  end  of  its  days  it  felt  the  benefit 
of  the  discipline  with  which  he  endowed  it.  But 
with  that  army  in  hand  he  did  not  secure  the  pur 
pose  of  its  creation.  He  was  an  accomplished 
engineer,  and  a  gigantic  adjutant,  but  hardly  the 
general  to  be  sent  against  an  army  that  could 
move  and  a  commander  that  could  think.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Administration  was  over 
anxious  about  the  movements  in  the  Shenandoah, 
and  should  have  sent  McDowell's  corps  to  McClel 
lan  at  once ;  but  neither  can  there  be  much  doubt 
that  if  Little  Mac,  the  Young  Napoleon,  as  he  was 
fondly  called,  had  been  a  general  of  the  highest 
order,  he  would  have  destroyed  Lee's  army  and 
captured  the  Confederate  capital  with  the  ample 
forces  that  he  had.  It  was  not  General  McClellan 
alone  that  was  in  a  false  position  when  his  army 
was  astride  the  Chickahominy,  but  the  Adminis 
tration  and  the  people  of  the  loyal  States  as  well. 
Their  grand  strategy  was  radically  vicious,  for 
they  stood  astride  of  the  great  central  question  of 
the  war  itself. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

POPE'S     CAMPAIGN. 

WHILE  McClellan  was  before  Richmond,  it  was 
determined  to  consolidate  in  one  command  the 
corps  of  Banks,  Fremont,  and  McDowell,  which 
were  moving  about  in  an  independent  and  ineffec 
tual  way  between  Washington  and  the  Shenandoah 
Valley.  General  John  Pope,  who  had  won  con 
siderable  reputation  by  his  capture  of  Island  No. 
10,  was  called  from  the  West  and  given  com 
mand  (June  26,  1862)  of  the  new  organization, 
which  was  called  the  Army  of  Virginia.  Fremont 
declined  to  serve  under  a  commander  who  had 
once  been  his  subordinate,  and  consequently  his 
corps  was  given  to  General  Sigel.  General  Pope, 
on  taking  command  of  this  force,  which  numbered 
all  told  about  thirty-eight  thousand  men,  and  also 
of  the  troops  in  the  fortifications  around  Washing 
ton,  had  the  bad  taste  to  issue  a  general  order 
that  had  three  capital  defects :  it  boasted  of  his 
own  prowess  at  the  West,  it  underrated  his  enemy, 
and  it  contained  a  bit  of  sarcasm  pointed  at  Gen 
eral  McClellan,  the  commander  of  the  army  with 
which  his  *own  was  to  co-operate.  Pope  says  in 
his  report,  that  he  wrote  a  cordial  letter  to 
McClellan,  asking  for  his  views  as  to  the  best  plan 
of  campaign,  and  offering  to  render  him  any 


174  HALLECK    MADE    GENERAL-IN-CHIEF. 

needed  assistance  ;  and  that  he  received  but  a  cold 
and  indefinite  reply.  It  is  likely  enough  that  a 
courteous  man  and  careful  soldier  like  McClellan 
would  be  in  no  mood  to  fall  in  with  the  sugges 
tions  of  a  commander  that  entered  upon  his  work 
with  a  gratuitous  piece  of  bombast,  and  seemed  to 
have  no  conception  of  the  serious  nature  of  the 
task.  When  it  became  evident  that  these  two 
commanders  could  not  act  sufficiently  in  harmony, 
the  President  called  General  Henry  W.  Halleck 
from  the  West  to  be  General-in-Chief,  with  head 
quarters  at  Washington,  and  command  them  both. 
Halleck  had  perhaps  more  military  learning  than 
any  other  man  in  the  country,  and  his  patriotic  in 
tentions  were  unquestionably  good  ;  but  in  practi 
cal  warfare  he  proved  to  be  little  more  than  a  great 
obstructor.  He  had  been  the  bane  of  the  Western 
armies,  preventing  them  from  following  up  their 
victories,  and  had  almost  driven  Grant  out  of  the 
service ;  and  from  the  day  he  took  command  at 
Washington  (July  12)  the  troubles  in  the  East  be 
came  more  complicated  than  ever. 

McClellan  held  a  strong  position  at  Harrison's 
Landing,  where,  if  he  accomplished  nothing  else, 
he  was  a  standing  menace  to  Richmond,  so  that 
Lee  dared  not  withdraw  his  army  from  its  defence. 
He  wanted  to  be  heavily  reenforced,  cross  the 
James,  and  strike  at  Richmond's  southern  com 
munications,  just  as  Grant  actually  did  two  years 
later;  and  he  was  promised  reinforcements  from 
the  troops  of  Burnside  and  Hunter,  on  the  coast 
of  North  and  South  Carolina.  Lee's  anxiety  was 


1862]  M'CLELLAN    LEAVES    THE    PENINSULA,  175 

to  get  McClellan  off  from  the  peninsula,  so  that 
he  could  strike  out  toward  Washington.  He  first 
sent  a  detachment  to  bombard  McClellan's  camp 
from  the  opposite  side  of  the  James;  but  Mc 
Clellan  crossed  the  river  with  a  sufficient  force  and 
easily  swept  it  out  of  the  way.  Then  Lee  sent 
Jackson  to  make  a  demonstration  against  Pope, 
holding  the  main  body  of  his  army  ready  to  follow 
as  soon  as  some  erratic  and  energetic  movements 
of  Jackson  had  caused  a  sufficient  alarm  at  Wash 
ington  to  determine  the  withdrawal  of  McClellan. 
The  unwitting  Halleck  was  all  too  swift  to  co 
operate  with  his  enemy,  and  had  already  deter 
mined  upon  that  withdrawal.  Burnside's  troops, 
coming  up  on  transports,  were  not  even  landed, 
but  were  forwarded  up  the  Potomac  and  sent  to 
Pope.  McClellan  marched  his  army  to  Fort  Mon 
roe,  and  there  embarked  it  by  divisions  for  the 
same  destination. 

Pope's  intention  was  to  push  southward,  strike 
Lee's  western  and  northwestern  communications, 
and  cut  them  off  from  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 
He  first  ordered  Banks  (July  14)  to  push  his  whole 
cavalry  force  to  Gordonsville,  and  destroy  the 
railroads  and  bridges  in  that  vicinity.  But  the 
cavalry  commander,  General  Hatch,  took  with  him 
infantry,  artillery,  and  a  wagon  train,  and  conse 
quently  did  not  move  at  cavalry  speed.  Before 
he  could  get  to  Gordonsville,  Jackson's  advance 
reached  it,  and  his  movement  was  frustrated.  He 
was  relieved  of  his  command,  and  it  was  given  to 
General  John  Buford,  an  able  cavalry  leader. 


176  BATTLE    OF   CEDAR    MOUNTAIN.  [186S. 

As  soon  as  Jackson  came  in  contact  with  Pope's 
advance,  he  called  upon  Lee  for  reinforcements, 
and  promptly  received  them.  On  the  8th  of  Au 
gust  he  crossed  the  Rapidan,  and  moved  toward 
Culpeper.  Pope,  who  had  but  recently  taken  the 
field  in  person,  having  remained  in  Washington 
till  July  29,  attempted  to  concentrate  the  corps 
of  Banks  and  Sigel  at  Culpeper.  Banks  arrived 
there  promptly  on  the  8th  ;  but  Sigel  sent  a  note 
from  Sperryville  in  the  afternoon,  asking  by  what 
road  he  should  march.  "  As  there  was  but  one 
road  between  those  two  points,"  says  Pope,  "  and 
that  a  broad  stone  turnpike,  I  was  at  a  loss  to  un 
derstand  how  General  Sigel  could  entertain  any 
doubt  as  to  the  road  by  which  he  should  march." 
On  the  morning  of  the  9th  Banks's  corps  went  out 
alone  to  meet  the  enemy  at  Cedar  Mountain. 
Banks  had  eight  thousand  men  (Pope  says  he  had 
supposed  that  corps  numbered  fourteen  thousand), 
and  attacked  an  enemy  twice  as  strong.  He  first 
struck  Jackson's  right  wing,  and  afterward  furi 
ously  attacked  the  left,  rolled  up  the  flank,  opened 
a  fire  in  the  rear,  and  threw  Jackson's  whole  line 
into  confusion.  It  was  as  if  the  two  commanders 
had  changed  characters,  and  Banks  had  suddenly 
assumed  the  part  that,  according  to  the  popular 
idea,  Jackson  was  always  supposed  to  play.  If 
Sigel  had  only  known  what  road  to  take,  that 
might  have  been  the  last  of  Jackson.  But  Banks's 
force  had  become  somewhat  broken  in  its  advance 
through  the  woods,  and  at  the  same  time  the  Con 
federates  were  reenforced,  so  that  Jackson  was 


1862.]  POPE    AND    LEE    MANOEUVRE.  177 

able  to  rally  his  men  and  check  the  movement. 
Banks  in  turn  was  forced  back  a  short  distance, 
where  he  took  up  a  strong  position,  and  Jackson, 
unwilling  to  attack  him  there,  fell  back  in  the  night 
of  the  nth  to  Gordonsville.  In  this  engagement 
Jackson  lost  thirteen  hundred  men,  and  Banks 
eighteen  hundred. 

Within  a  week  after  the  battle  of  Cedar  Moun 
tain,  Lee,  seeing  that  McClellan  was  leaving  the 
peninsula,  forwarded  Longstreet's  division  and  a 
part  of  Hood's  to  Gordonsville,  and  prepared  to 
follow  with  his  entire  army.  Pope  had  concentrated 
his  forces  and  advanced  his  line  so  that  his  cen 
tre  rested  on  Cedar  Mountain,  his  left  on  the  Rap- 
idan,  and  his  right  on  Robertson's  River  ;  and  when 
Jackson  and  Longstreet  advanced  across  the  Rap- 
idan,  he  fell  back  beyond  the  Rappahannock.  By 
this  time  he  was  reenforced  by  a  portion  of  Burn- 
side's  troops,  and  others  were  on  the  way. 

When  Lee  came  up  with  the  remainder  of  his 
army,  and  found  it  impossible  to  cross  the  Rappa 
hannock  in  front  of  Pope,  he  sent  Jackson  to  make 
a  flank  march  westward  along  that  stream,  cross  it 
at  Sulphur  Springs,  and  come  down  upon  Pope's 
right.  But  when  Jackson  arrived  at  the  cross 
ing,  he  found  a  heavy  force  occupying  Sulphur 
Springs  and  ready  to  meet  him.  Meanwhile  Gen 
eral  James  E.  B.  Stuart,  with  fifteen  hundred 
cavalrymen,  in  the  dark  and  stormy  night  of 
August  22,  had  ridden  around  to  the  rear  of 
Pope's  position,  to  cut  the  railroad.  He  struck 
Pope's  headquarters  at  Catlett's  Station,  captured 


178  PAPERS    CAPTURED.  [1862. 

three  hundred  prisoners  and  all  the  personal  bag 
gage  and  papers  of  the  commander,  and  got  back 
in  safety.  These  papers  informed  Lee  of  Pope's 
plans  and  dispositions.  On  the  other  hand,  a 
cavalry  expedition  sent  out  by  Pope  a  few  days 
before  had  captured  Stuart's  adjutant,  and  with 
him  a  letter  from  Lee  to  Stuart,  which  largely 
revealed  Lee's  plans  to  his  opponent. 

Jackson,  being  thwarted  at  Sulphur  Springs, 
moved  still  farther  up  the  south  bank  of  the  Rap- 
pahannock,  crossed  the  headwaters,  and  turned 
Pope's  right.  He  passed  through  Thoroughfare 
Gap  in  the  Bull  Run  Mountains  on  the  26th,  de 
stroyed  Bristoe  Station  on  the  Orange  and  Alex 
andria  Railroad,  and  sent  out  Stuart  to  Manassas 
Junction,  where  prisoners  were  taken  and  a  large 
amount  of  commissary  stores  fell  into  his  hands. 

Pope  knew  exactly  the  size  of  Jackson's  force, 
and  the  direction  it  had  taken  in  its  flank  march  ; 
for  Colonel  J.  S.  Clark,  of  Banks's  staff,  had  spent 
a  day  where  he  had  a  plain  view  of  the  enemy's 
moving  columns,  and  carefully  counted  the  regi 
ments  and  batteries.  But  from  this  point  the 
National  commander,  who  had  hitherto  done  rea 
sonably  well,  seemed  suddenly  to  become  bewil 
dered.  Lee,  whose  grand  strategy  was  correct, 
had  here  blundered  seriously  in  his  manoeuvres, 
dividing  his  army  so  that  the  two  parts  were  not 
within  supporting  distance  of  each  other,  and  the 
united  enemy  was  between.  An  ordinarily  good 
general,  standing  in  Pope's  boots,  would  naturally 
have  fallen  in  force  upon  Jackson,  and  could  have 


1862.]  BATTLE    OF    GROVETON.  179 

completely  destroyed  or  captured  him.  But  Pope 
out-blundered  Lee,  and  gave  the  victory  to  the 
Confederates. 

He  began  by  sending  forty  thousand  men  under 
McDowell,  on  the  2;th,  toward  Thoroughfare  Gap, 
to  occupy  the  road  by  which  Lee  with  Longstreet's 
division  was  marching  to  join  Jackson  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  he  moved  with  the  remainder  of  his 
army  to  strike  Jackson  at  Bristoe  Station.  This 
was  a  good  beginning,  but  was  immediately  ruined 
by  his  own  lack  of  steadiness.  The  advance 
guard  had  an  engagement  at  that  place  with  Jack 
son's  rear  guard,  while  his  main  body  retired  to 
Manassas  Junction.  Pope  became  elated  at  the 
prospect  of  a  great  success,  and  ordered  a  retro 
grade  movement  by  McDowell,  telling  him  to 
march  eastward  on  the  28th,  adding,  "  If  you  will 
march  promptly  and  rapidly  at  the  earliest  dawn 
upon  Manassas  Junction,  we  shall  bag  the  whole 
crowd."  McDowell  obeyed,  the  way  was  thus  left 
open  for  Jackson  to  move  out  to  meet  his  friends, 
and  Jackson  promptly  took  advantage  of  the 
opportunity  and  planted  himself  on  the  high  land 
around  Groveton,  near  the  battle-field  of  Bull  Run. 
Here  King's  division  of  McDowell's  corps  came 
suddenly  in  contact  with  the  enemy,  and  a  sharp 
fight,  with  severe  loss  on  either  side,  ensued. 
Among  the  Confederate  wounded  was  General 
Richard  S.  Ewell,  one  of  their  best  commanders, 
who  lost  a  leg.  In  the  night,  King's  men  fell  back 
to  Manassas  ;  and  Ricketts's  division,  which  Mc 
Dowell  had  left  to  delay  Longstreet  when  he 


180  BATTLE    OF    GROVETON. 

should  attempt  to  pass  through  Thoroughfare  Gap, 
was  also  retired. 

All  apprehensions  on  the  part  of  the  lucky 
Jackson  were  now  at  an  end.  His  enemies  had 
removed  every  obstruction,  and  he  was  in  posses 
sion  of  the  Warrenton  turnpike,  the  road  by  which 
Longstreet  was  to  join  him.  The  cut  of  an  aban 
doned  railroad  formed  a  strong,  ready-made  in- 
trenchment,  and  along  this  he  placed  his  troops, 
his  right  flank  being  on  the  turnpike  and  his  left 
at  Sudley  Mill. 

Longstreet  reached  the  field  in  the  forenoon  of 
the  29th,  and  took  position  at  Jackson's  right,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  turnpike,  covering  also  the 
Manassas  Gap  Railroad.  He  was  confronted  by 
Fitz  John  Porter's  corps,  which  with  Hooker's  had 
arrived  from  McClellan's  army.  McDowell  says 
he  ordered  Porter  to  move  out  and  attack  Long- 
street  ;  Porter  says  he  ordered  him  simply  to  hold 
the  ground  where  he  was.  At  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  Pope  ordered  Hooker  to  attack  Jackson 
directly  in  front.  Hooker,  who  was  never  loath  to 
fight  where  there  was  a  prospect  of  success,  re 
monstrated  ;  but  Pope  insisted,  and  the  attack  was 
made.  Hooker's  men  charged  with  the  bayonet, 
had  a  terrific  hand-to-hand  fight  in  the  cut,  and  actu 
ally  ruptured  Jackson's  seemingly  impregnable  line  ; 
but  reinforcements  were  brought  up,  and  the 
assailants  were  at  length  driven  back.  Kearny's 
division  was  sent  to  support  Hooker,  but  too  late, 
and  it  also  was  repelled.  An  hour  or  two  later, 
Pope,  who  did  not  know  that  Longstreet  had 


1862.]  BATTLE    OF    GROVETON.  l8l 

arrived  on  the  field,  sent  orders  to  Fitz  John  Por 
ter  to  attack  Jackson's  right,  supposing  that  was 
the  right  of  the  whole  Confederate  line.  There  is 
a  dispute  as  to  the  hour  at  which  this  order  reached 
Porter.  But  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  obey  it, 
since  he  could  not  move  upon  Jackson's  flank 
without  exposing  his  own  flank  to  Longstreet. 
About  6  o'clock,  when  he  imagined  Porter's  attack 
must  have  begun,  Pope  ordered  another  attack  on 
the  Confederate  left.  It  was  gallantly  made,  and 
in  the  first  rush  was  successful.  Jackson's  extreme 
left  was  doubled  up  and  broken  by  Kearny's  men, 
who  seized  the  cut  and  held  it  for  a  time.  At  this 
point  a  Confederate  regiment  that  had  exhausted 
its  ammunition  fought  with  stones.  There  were 
plenty  of  fragments  of  rock  at  hand,  and  several 
men  were  killed  by  them.  Again  the  Confederates, 
undisturbed  on  their  right,  hurried  across  re- 
enforcements  to  their  imperilled  left ;  and  Kearny's 
division,  too  small  to  hold  what  it  had  gained,  was 
driven  back.  This  day's  action  is  properly  called 
the  battle  of  Groveton. 

Pope's  forces  had  been  considerably  cut  up  and 
scattered,  but  he  got  them  together  that  night,  re 
formed  his  lines,  and  prepared  to  renew  the  attack 
the  next  day.  Lee  at  the  same  time  drew  back 
his  left  somewhat,  advanced  and  strengthened  his 
right,  and  prepared  to  take  the  offensive.  Each 
intended  to  attack  the  other's  left  flank. 

When  Pope  moved  out  the  next  day  (August 
30)  to  strike  Lee's  left,  and  found  it  withdrawn,  he 
imagined  that  the  enemy  was  in  retreat,  and  im- 


1 82  THE    SECOND    BULL    RUN. 


[1862. 


mediately  ordered  McDowell  to  follow  it  up  and 
"  press  the  enemy  vigorously  the  whole  day." 
Porter's  corps — the  advance  of  McDowell's  force 
— had  no  sooner  begun  this  movement  than  it 
struck  the  foe  in  a  strong  position,  and  was  sub 
jected  to  a  heavy  artillery  fire.  Then  a  cloud  of 
dust  was  seen  to  the  south,  and  it  was  evident  that 
Lee  was  pushing  a  force  around  on  the  flank. 
McDowell  sent  Reynolds  to  meet  and  check  it. 
Porter  then  attempted  to  obey  his  orders.  He 
advanced  against  Jackson's  right  in  charge  after 
charge,  but  was  met  by  a  fire  that  repelled  him 
every  time  with  bloody  loss.  Moreover,  Long- 
street  found  an  eminence  that  commanded  a  part 
of  his  line,  promptly  took  advantage  of  it  by  plac 
ing  a  battery  there,  and  threw  in  an  enfilading  fire. 
It  was  impossible  for  anything  to  withstand  this, 
and  Porter's  corps  in  a  few  minutes  fell  back  de 
feated.  The  whole  Confederate  line  was  advanced, 
and  an  attempt  was  made,  by  still  further  extend 
ing  their  right,  to  cut  off  retreat ;  but  key-points 
were  firmly  held  by  Warren's  brigade  and  the  brig 
ades  of  Meade  and  Seymour,  and  the  army  was 
withdrawn  in  order  from  the  field  whence  it  had 
retired  so  precipitously  a  year  before.  After  dark 
it  crossed  the  stone  bridge  over  Bull  Run,  and  en 
camped  on  the  heights  around  Centreville. 

The  corps  of  Sumner  and  Franklin  here  joined 
Pope,  and  the  whole  army  fell  back  still  further, 
taking  a  position  around  Fairfax  Court  House  and 
Germantown.  Lee  meanwhile  ordered  Jackson  to 
make  another  of  the  flank  marches  that  he  was  so 


1862.]  BATTLE    OF    CHANTILLY.  183 

fond  of,  with  a  view  of  striking  Pope's  right  and 
perhaps  interrupting  his  communication  with 
Washington.  It  was  the  evening  of  September 
ist  when  he  fell  heavily  upon  Pope's  flank.  He 
was  stoutly  resisted,  and  finally  repelled  by  the 
commands  of  Hooker  and  Reno,  and  a  part  of 
those  of  McDowell  and  Kearny.  General  Stevens, 
of  Reno's  corps,  was  killed,  and  his  men,  having 
used  up  their  ammunition,  fell  back.  General 
Kearny  sent  Birney's  brigade  into  the  gap,  and 
brought  up  a  battery.  He  then  rode  forward  to 
reconnoitre,  came  suddenly  upon  a  squad  of  Con 
federates,  and  in  attempting  to  ride  away  was  shot 
dead.  Kearny  was  one  of  the  most  experienced 
and  efficient  soldiers  in  the  service.  He  had  lost 
an  arm  in  the  Mexican  war,  was  with  Napoleon 
III.  at  Solferino  and  Magenta,  and  had  just  passed 
through  the  peninsula  campaign  with  McClellan. 

Lee  made  no  further  attempt  upon  Pope's  army, 
and  on  September  2,  by  Halleck's  orders,  it  was 
withdrawn  to  the  fortifications  of  Washington, 
where  it  was  merged  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
The  losses  in  the  campaign  are  unknown.  Lee 
claimed  that  he  had  captured  nine  thousand  prison 
ers  and  thirty  guns,  and  it  is  probable  that  Pope's 
killed  and  wounded  numbered  at  least  ten  thou 
sand.  Pope  maintained  that  he  would  have  won 
the  battle  of  Groveton  and  made  a  successful  cam 
paign,  if  General  Porter  had  obeyed  his  orders. 
Porter  for  this  supposed  disobedience,  was  court- 
martialed  in  January,  1863,  and  was  condemned 
and  dismissed  from  the  service,  and  forever  dis- 


184  THR    PORTER    DISPUTE.  [1862. 

qualified  from  holding  any  office  of  trust  or  profit 
under  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 
Thousands  of  pages  have  been  written  and  printed 
to  prove  or  disprove  his  innocence,  and  the  evi 
dence  has  been  reviewed  again  and  again.  It  ap 
pears  to  be  established  at  last  that  he  did  not  dis 
obey  any  order  that  it  was  possible  for  him  to 
obey,  and  that  he  was  blameless — except,  perhaps, 
in  having  exhibited  a  spirit  of  personal  hostility  to 
General  Pope,  who  was  then  his  superior  officer. 
General  Grant,  reviewing  the  case  finally  in  1882, 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  Porter  was  innocent, 
and  gave  his  reasons  for  it  in  a  magazine  article, 
significantly  remarking  that  "  if  he  was  guilty,  the 
punishment  awarded  was  not  commensurate  with 
the  offence  committed."  But  some  other  military 
authorities  still  believe  that  his  sentence  was  just. 
Grant  seems  to  make  the  question  perfectly  clear 
by  drawing  two  simple  diagrams.  This  is  what 
Pope  supposed  to  be  the  position  of  the  armies 
when  he  ordered  Porter  to  attack  : 

JACKSON 


POPE 

But  this  is  what  the  situation  really  was. 

JACKSON 


POPE 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   ANTIETAM    CAMPAIGN. 

AFTER  his  success  in  the  second  battle  of  Ma- 
nassas,  and  the  retirement  of  Pope's  army  to 
the  defences  of  Washington  (September  2,  1862), 
General  Lee  pushed  northward  into  Maryland 
with  his  whole  army.  His  advance  arrived  at 
Frederick  City  on  the  8th,  and  from  his  camp  near 
that  place  he  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  people  of 
Maryland,  in  which  he  recited  the  wrongs  they  had 
suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  National  Government, 
and  told  them  "the  people  of  the  South  have  long 
wished  to  aid  you  in  throwing  off  this  foreign 
yoke,  to  enable  you  again  to  enjoy  the  inalienable 
rights  of  freemen  and  restore  the  independence 
and  sovereignty  of  your  State."  At  the  same 
time  he  opened  recruiting-offices,  and  appointed  a 
provost  marshal  of  Frederick.  The  reader  of  the 
classics  will  perhaps  be  reminded  of  the  shrewd 
advice  that  Demosthenes  gave  the  Athenians, 
when  he  counselled  them  not  to  ask  the  assistance 
of  the  Thebans  against  Philip  of  Macedon,  but  to 
bring  about  an  alliance  by  offering  to  help  them 
against  him.  But  the  Confederate  chieftain  was 
sadly  disappointed  in  the  effect  of  his  proclama 
tion  and  his  presence.  When  his  army  marched 
into  the  State  singing  "  My  Maryland,"  they  were 


1 86  INVASION    OF    MARYLAND.  [1862. 

received  with  closed  doors,  drawn  blinds,  and  the 
silence  of  a  graveyard.  In  Frederick  all  the  places 
of  business  were  shut.  The  Marylanders  did  not 
flock  to  his  recruiting-offices  to  the  extent  of  more 
than  two  or  three  hundred,  while  on  the  other 
hand  he  lost  many  times  that  number  from  strag 
gling,  as  he  says  in  his  report.  Several  reasons 
have  been  assigned  for  the  failure  of  the  people 
to  respond  to  his  appeal,  in  each  of  which  there  is 
probably  some  truth.  One  was,  that  it  had  always 
been  easy  enough  for  Marylanders  to  go  to  the 
Confederate  armies,  and  those  of  them  that  wished 
to  enlist  there  had  done  so  already.  Another  — 
and  probably  the  principal  one  —  was,  that  Mary 
land  was  largely  true  to  the  Union,  especially  in 
the  western  counties  ;  and  she  furnished  many  ex 
cellent  soldiers  to  its  armies  —  almost  fifty  thou 
sand.  Another  was,  that  the  appearance  of  the 
Southern  veterans  was  not  calculated  either  to  en 
tice  the  men  or  to  arouse  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
women.  The  Confederate  General  Jones  says, 
"  Never  had  the  army  been  so  dirty,  ragged,  and 
ill-provided  for,  as  on  this  march."  General  Lee 
complained  especially  of  their  want  of  shoes.  It 
is  difficult  to  understand  why  an  army  that  claimed 
to  have  captured  such  immense  supplies  late  in 
August  should  have  been  so  destitute  early  in 
September. 

On  the  2d  of  September  the  President  went  to 
General  McClellan's  house  in  Washington,  asked 
him  to  take  command  again  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  in  which  Pope's  army  had  now  been 


1862.]        THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC  IN  PURSUIT.        187 

merged,  and  verbally  authorized  him  to  do  so  at 
once.  The  first  thing  that  McClellan  wanted 
was  the  withdrawal  of  Miles's  force,  eleven  thou 
sand  men,  from  Harper's  Ferry — where,  he  said, 
it  was  useless  and  helpless — and  its  addition  to 
his  own  force.  All  authorities  agree  that  in  this 
he  was  obviously  and  unquestionably  right  ;  but 
the  marplot  hand  of  Halleck  intervened,  and  Miles 
was  ordered  to  hold  the  place.  Halleck's  principal 
reason  appeared  to  be  a  reluctance  to  abandon  a 
place  where  so  much  expense  had  been  laid  out. 
Miles,  a  \vorthy  subordinate  for  such  a  chief,  inter 
preted  Halleck's  orders  with  absolute  literalness, 
and  remained  in  the  town,  instead  of  holding  it  by 
placing  his  force  on  the  heights  that  command  it. 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  Lee  was  in  Mary 
land,  McClellan  set  his  army  in  motion  northward, 
to  cover  Washington  and  Baltimore  and  find  an 
opportunity  for  a  decisive  battle.  He  arrived 
with  his  advance  in  Frederick  on  the  I2th,  and 
met  with  a  reception  in  striking  contrast  to  that 
accorded  to  the  army  that  had  left  the  town  two 
days  before.  Nearly  every  house  displayed  the 
National  flag,  the  streets  were  thronged  with  peo 
ple,  all  the  business  places  were  open,  and  every 
body  welcomed  the  Boys  in  Blue. 

But  this  flattering  reception  was  not  the  best 
fortune  that  befell  the  Union  army  in  Frederick. 
On  his  arrival  in  the  town,  General  McClellan 
came  into  possession  of  a  copy  of  General  Lee's 
order,  elated  three  days  before,  in  which  the 
whole  campaign  was  laid  out.  By  this  order, 


1 88  LEE'S  PLANS. 

Jackson  was  directed  to  march  through  Sharps- 
burg,  cross  the  Potomac,  capture  the  force  at  Mar- 
tinsburg,  and  assist  in  the  capture  of  that  at  Ha'r- 
per's  Ferry ;  Longstreet  was  directed  to  halt  at 
Boonsboro  with  the  trains;  McLaws  was  to 
march  to  Harper's  Ferry,  take  possession  of  the 
heights  commanding  it,  and  capture  the  force 
there  as  speedily  as  possible  ;  Walker  was  to  in 
vest  that  place  from  the  other  side  and  assist  Mc 
Laws ;  D.  H.  Hill's  division  was  to  form  the  rear 
guard.  All  the  forces  were  to  be  united  again  at 
Boonsboro  or  Hagerstown.  General  Lee  had 
taken  it  for  granted  that  Martinsburg  and  Har 
per's  Ferry  would  be  evacuated  at  his  approach 
(as  they  should  have  been);  and  when  he  found 
they  were  not,  he  had  so  far  changed  or  suspended 
the  plan  with  which  he  set  out  as  to  send  back  a 
large  part  of  his  army  to  capture  those  places  and 
not  leave  a  hostile  force  in  his  rear. 

On  the  approach  of  Jackson's  corps,  General 
White  evacuated  Martinsburg  and  with  his  garri 
son  of  two  thousand  men  joined  Miles  at  Harper's 
Ferry.  That  town,  in  the  fork  of  the  Potomac  and 
Shenandoah  rivers,  can  be  bombarded  with  the 
greatest  ease  from  the  heights  on  the  opposite 
sides  of  those  streams.  Miles,  instead  of  taking 
possession  of  the  heights  with  all  his  men,  sent  a 
feeble  detachment  to  those  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Potomac,  and  stupidly  remained  in  the  trap 
with  the  rest.  McLaws  sent  a  heavy  force  to  climb 
the  mountain  at  a  point  three  or  four  miles  north, 
whence  it  marched  along  the  crest  through  the 


1862.J 


CAPTURE    OF    HARPERS    FERRY. 


189 


woods,  and  attacked  three  or  four  regiments  that 
Miles  had  posted  there.  This  force  was  soon 
driven  away,  while  Jackson  was  approaching  the 
town  from  the  other  side,  and  a  bombardment  the 
next  day  compelled  a  surrender  when  Jackson 
was  about  to  attack.  General  Miles  was  mortally 
wounded  by  one  of  the  last  shots.  About  eleven 
thousand  men  were  included  in  the  capitulation, 
with  seventy-three 
guns  and  a  consid 
erable  amount  of 
camp-equipage.  A 
body  of  two  thou 
sand  cavalry,  com 
manded  by  Col 
onel  Davis,  had 
been  with  Miles, 
but  had  escaped 
the  night  before, 
crossed  the  Poto 
mac,  and  by  morn 
ing  reached  Green- 
castle,  Pa.  On  the  way  they  captured  Long- 
street's  ammunition  train  of  fifty  wagons.  Jackson, 
leaving  the  arrangements  for  the  surrender  to  A. 
P.  Hill,  hurried  with  the  greater  part  of  his  force 
to  rejoin  Lee,  and  reached  Sharpsburg  on  the 
morning  of  the  i6th. 

The  range  known  as  the  South  Mountain,  which 
is  a  continuation  of  the  Blue  Ridge  north  of  the 
Potomac,  is  about  a  thousand  feet  high.  The  two 
principal  gaps  are  Turner's  and  Crampton's,  each 


HARPER^  FERRY 


BATTLE    OF    SOUTH    MOUNTAIN.  [1862. 

about  four  hundred  feet  high,  with  the  hills  tow 
ering  six  hundred  feet  above  it. 

When  McClellan  learned  the  plans  of  the  Con 
federate  commander,  he  set  his  army  in  motion  to 
thwart  them.  He  ordered  Franklin's  corps  to  pass 
through  Crampton's  Gap  and  press  on  to  relieve 
Harper's  Ferry;  the  corps  of  Reno  and  Hooker, 
under  command  of  Burnside,  he  moved  to  Tur 
ner's  Gap.  The  movement  was  quick  for  McClel 
lan,  but  not  quite  quick  enough  for  the  emergency. 
He  might  have  passed  through  the  Gaps  on  the  I3th 
with  little  or  no  opposition,  and  would  then  have 
had  his  whole  army  between  Lee's  divided  forces, 
and  could  hardly  have  failed  to  defeat  them  disas 
trously  and  perhaps  conclusively.  But  he  did  not 
arrive  at  the  passes  till  the  morning  of  the  I4th  ; 
and  by  that  time  Lee  had  learned  of  his  move 
ment  and  recalled  Hill  and  Longstreet,  from  Boons- 
boro  and  beyond,  to  defend  Turner's  Gap,  while 
he  ordered  McLaws  to  look  out  for  Crampton's. 

Turner's  Gap  was  flanked  by  two  old  roads  that 
crossed  the  mountain  a  mile  north  and  south  of  it ; 
and  using  these,  and  scrambling  up  from  rock  to 
rock,  the  National  troops  worked  their  way  slowly 
to  the  crests,  opposed  at  every  step  by  the  Con 
federate  riflemen  behind  the  trees  and  ledges. 
Reno  assaulted  the  southern  crest,  and  Hooker 
the  northern,  while  Gibbon's  brigade  gradually 
pushed  along  up  the  turnpike  into  the  Gap  itself. 
Reno  was  opposed  by  the  Confederate  brigade  of 
Garland,  and  both  these  commanders  were  killed. 
There  was  stubborn  and  bloody  fighting  all  day, 


BATTLE    OF    SOUTH    MOUNTAIN.  IQI 

with  the  Union  forces  slowly  but  constantly  gain 
ing  ground,  and  at  dark  the  field  was  won.  The 
Confederates  withdrew  during  the  night,  and  in  the 
morning  the  victorious  columns  passed  through  to 
the  western  side  of  the  mountain.  This  battle 
cost  McClellan  fifteen  hundred  men,  killed  or 
wounded.  Among  the  wounded  was  the  lieuten 
ant-colonel  in  command  of  the  23d  Ohio  regiment 
—  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  afterward  President  — 
who  was  struck  in  the  arm  by  a  rifle-ball.  The 
Confederate  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was  about 
fifteen  hundred,  and  in  addition  fifteen  hundred 
were  made  prisoners.  The  fight  at  Crampton's 
Gap — to  defend  which  McLaws  had  sent  back  a 
part  of  his  force  from  Harper's  Ferry — was  quite 
similar  to  that  at  Turner's,  and  had  a  similar  re 
sult.  Franklin  reached  the  crests  after  a  fight  of 
three  hours,  losing  five  hundred  and  thirty-two 
men,  inflicting  an  equal  loss  upon  the  enemy,  and 
capturing  four  hundred  prisoners,  one  gun,  and 
three  battle-flags.  These  two  actions  (fought 
September  14,  1862)  are  designated  as  the  battle 
of  South  Mountain.  In  that  the  enemy  was  driven 
away,  the  ground  held,  and  the  passes  used,  it  was 
a  victory,  and  a  brilliant  one,  for  McClellan.  But 
in  that  Lee,  by  delaying  the  advance  of  his  enemy 
a  whole  day,  thereby  gained  time  to  bring  to 
gether  his  own  scattered  forces,  it  was  strategically 
a  victory,  though  a  costly  one,  for  him.  But  then 
again  it  might  be  argued  that  if  Lee  could  have 
kept  the  four  thousand  good  troops  that  McClellan 
deprived  him  of  at  South  Mountain,  it  might  have 


1 92  LEES    POSITION    AT   SHARPSBURG.  [1863. 

fared  better  with  him  in  the  struggle  at  Antietam, 
three  days  later. 

When  Lee  retired  his  left  wing  from  Turner's 
Gap,  he  withdrew  across  the  Antietam,  and  took 
up  a  position  on  high  ground  between  that  stream 
and  the  village  of  Sharpsburg.  His  right,  under 
McLaws,  after  detaining  Franklin  till  Harper's 
Ferry  was  surrendered,  crossed  the  Potomac  at 
that  place,  re-crossed  it  at  Shepherdstown,  and 
came  promptly  into  position.  Lee  now  had  his 
army  together  and  strongly  posted.  But  it  had 
been  so  reduced  by  losses  in  battle  and  straggling 
that  it  numbered  but  little  over  forty  thousand 
combatants.  The  effect  upon  the  army  itself  of 
invading  a  rich  country  with  troops  so  poorly  sup 
plied  had  probably  not  been  anticipated.  Lee 
complained  bitterly  that  his  army  was  "  ruined  by 
straggling,"  and  General  Hill  wrote  in  his  report, 
"  Had  all  our  stragglers  been  up,  McClellan's  army 
would  have  been  completely  crushed  or  annihi 
lated.  Thousands  of  thievish  poltroons  had  kept 
away  from  sheer  cowardice."  General  Hill,  in  his 
anger,  probably  overestimates  the  effect ;  for  Me- 
Clellan  had  somewhat  over  seventy  thousand  men, 
and  though  he  used  but  little  more  than  half  of 
them  in  his  attacks,  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
he  would  not  have  used  them  all  in  a  defence. 
The  men  that  Le.e  did  have,  however,  were  those 
exclusively  that  had  been  able  to  stand  the  hard 
marching  and  resist  the  temptation  to  straggle, 
and  were  consequently  the  flower  of  his  army  ;  and 
they  now  awaited,  in  a  chosen  position,  a  battle 


1862.] 


THE    BATTLE-GROUND. 


193 


that  they  knew  would  be  decisive  of  the  campaign, 
if  not  of  the  war. 

The  ground  occupied  by  the  Confederate  army, 


with  both  flanks  resting  on  the  Potomac,  and*  the 
Antietam  flowing  in  front,  was  advantageous.  The 
creek  was  crossed  by  four  stone  bridges  and  a 
ford,  and  all  except  the  northernmost  bridge  were 
strongly  guarded.  The  land  was  occupied  by 


194  BATTLE   OF   THE    ANTIETAM. 

meadows,  'cornfields,  and  patches  of  forest,  and 
was  much  broken  by  outcropping  ledges.  McClel- 
lan  only  reconnoitered  the  position  on  the  I5th. 
On  the  1 6th  he  developed  his  plan  of  attack,  which 
was  simply  to  throw  his  right  wing  across  the  An- 
tietam  by  the  upper  and  unguarded  bridge,  assail 
the  Confederate  left,  and  when  'this  had  suffi 
ciently  engaged  the  enemy's  attention  and  drawn 
his  strength  to  that  flank,  to  force  the  bridges  and 
cross  with  his  left  and  centre.  Indeed,  this  was 
obviously  almost  the  only  practicable  plan.  All 
day  long  an  artillery  duel  was  kept  up,  in  which,  as 
General  Hill  says,  the  Confederate  batteries  proved 
no  match  for  their  opponents.  It  was  late  in  the 
afternoon  when  Hooker's  corps  crossed  by  the  up 
per  bridge,  advanced  through  the  woods,  and 
struck  the  left  flank,  which  was  held  by  two  brig 
ades  of  Hood's  men.  Scarcely  more  than  a  skir 
mish  ensued,  when,  darkness  came  on,  and  the 
lines  rested  for  the  night  where  they  were.  If  Lee 
could  have  been  in  any  doubt  before,  he  was  now 
told  plainly  what  was  to  be  the  form  of  the  contest, 
and  he  had  all  night  to  make  his  dispositions  for  it. 
The  only  change  he  thought  it  necessary  to  make 
was  to  put  Jackson's  fresh  troops  in  the  position 
on  his  left.  Before  morning  McClellan  sent  Mans 
field's  corps  across  the  Antietam  to  join  Hooker, 
and  had  Sumner's  in  readiness  to  follow  at  an 
early  hour.  Meanwhile,  all  but  two  thousand  of 
Lee's  forces  had  come  up.  So  the  I7th  of  Sep 
tember  dawned  in  that  peaceful  little  corner  of  the 
world  with  everything  in  readiness  for  a  great 


1862.]  BATTLE   OF  THE   ANTIETAM.  195 

struggle  in  which  there  could  be  no  surprises,  and 
was  to  be  scarcely  any  thing  more  than  wounds  for 
wounds  and  death  for  death. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  little  Dunker  church,  the 
road  running  northward  from  Sharpsburg  to  Ha- 
gerstown  was  bordered  on  both  sides  by  woods,  and 
in  these  woods  the  battle  began  when  Hooker  as 
saulted  Jackson  at  sunrise.  There  was  hard  fight 
ing  for  an  hour,  during  which  Jackson's  lines  were 
not  only  heavily  pressed  by  Hooker  in  front,  but 
at  length  enfiladed  by  a  fire  from  the  batteries  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Antietam.  This  broke  them 
and  drove  them  back  ;  but  when  Hooker  attempted 
to  advance  his  lines  far  enough  to  hold  the  road 
and  seize  the  woods  west  of  it,  he  in  turn  was  met 
by  fresh  masses  of  troops  and  a  heavy  artillery  fire, 
and  was  checked.  Mansfield's  corps  was  moving 
up  to  his  support  when  its  commander  was  mor 
tally  wounded.  Nevertheless  it  moved  on,  got  a 
position  in  the  woods  west  of  the  road,  and  held  it, 
though  at  heavy  cost.  At  this  moment  General 
Hooker  was  seriously  wounded  and  borne  from 
the  field,  while  Sumner  crossed  the  stream  and 
came  up  with  his  corps.  His  men  drove  back  the 
defeated  divisions  of  the  enemy  without  much  dif 
ficulty,  and  occupied  the  ground  around  the 
church.  His  whole  line  was  advancing  to  ap 
parent  victory,  when  two  fresh  divisions  were 
brought  over  from  the  Confederate  right,  and  were 
immediately  thrust  into  a  wide  gap  in  Sumner's 
line.  Sedgwick,  whose  division  formed  the  right 
of  the  line,  was  thus  flanked  on  his  left,  and  was 


196  BATTLE   OF    THE  '  ANTIETAM.  [1862. 

easily  driven  back  out  of  the  woods,  across  the 
clearing,  and  into  the  eastern  woods,  after  which 
the  Confederates  retired  to  their  own  position. 
Fighting  of  this  sort  went  on  all  the  forenoon, 
one  of  the  episodes  being  a  race  between  the 
5th  New  Hampshire  regiment  and  a  Confederate 
force  for  a  commanding  point  of  ground,  the  two 
marching  in  parallel  lines  and  firing  at  each  other 
as  they  went  along.  The  New  Hampshire  men  got 
there  first. 

But  while  this  great  struggle  was  in  progress  on 
McClellan's  right,  his  centre  and  left,  under  Por 
ter  and  Burnside,  did  not  make  any  movement  to 
assist.  At  noon  Franklin  arrived  from  Cramp- 
ton's  Gap,  and  was  sent  over  to  help  Hooker 
and  Sumner,  being  just  in  time  to  check  a  new 
advance  by  more  troops  brought  over  from  the 
Confederate  right. 

At  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  Burnside  had 
been  ordered  to  carry  the  bridge  in  his  front,  cross 
the  stream,  and  attack  the  Confederate  right.  But, 
though  commanded  and  urged  repeatedly,  it  was 
one  o'clock  before  he  succeeded  in  doing  this,  and 
two  more  precious  hours  passed  away  before  he 
had  carried  the  ridge  commanding  Sharpsburg  and 
captured  the  Confederate  battery  there.  Then 
came  up  the  last  division  of  Lee's  forces  (A.  P. 
Hill's)  from  Harper's  Ferry,  two  thousand  strong, 
united  with  the  other  forces  on  his  left,  and  drove 
Burnside  from  the  crest  and  re-took  the  battery. 
Here  ended  the  battle  ;  not  because  the  day  was 
closed,  or  any  apparent  victory  had  been  achieved, 


1862.1  CONDUCT    OF    THE    BATTLE.  1 97 

but  because  both  sides  had  been  so  severely  pun 
ished  that  neither  was  inclined  to  resume  the  fight. 
Every  man  of  Lee's  force  had  been  actively  en 
gaged,  but  not  more  than  two  thirds  of  McClellan's. 
The  reason  why  the  Confederate  army  was  not 
annihilated  or  captured  must  be  plain  to  any  intel 
ligent  reader.  It  was  not  because  Lee,  with  his 
army  divided  for  three  days  in  presence  of  his 
enemy,  had  not  invited  destruction,  nor  because 
the  seventy  thousand,  acting  in  concert,  could  not 
have  overwhelmed  the  forty  thousand  even  when 
they  were  united.  It  was  not  for  any  lack  of 
courage,  or  men,  or  arms,  or  opportunity,  or  day 
light.  It  was  simply  because  the  attack  was  made 
in  driblets,  instead  of  by  heavy  masses  on  both 
wings  simultaneously ;  so  that  at  any  point  of 
actual  contact  Lee  was  almost  always  able  to  pre 
sent  as  strong  a  force  as  that  which  assailed  him. 

The  losses  on  both  sides  were  fully  equal  to 
those  of  Shiloh.  Whatever  had  been  the  strag 
gling  on  the  march,  none  of  the  commanders  com 
plained  of  any  flinching  after  the  fight  began. 
They  saw  veterans  taking,  relinquishing,  and  re 
taking  ground  that  was  soaked  with  blood  and 
covered  with  dead  ;  and  they  saw  green  regiments 
"  go  to  their  graves  like  beds."  There  had  been 
a  call  for  more  troops  by  the  National  Administra 
tion  after  the  battles  on  the  Peninsula,  which  was 
responded  to  with  the  greatest  alacrity,  men  of  all 
classes  rushing  to  the  recruiting-offices  to  enroll 
themselves.  It  was  a  common  thing  for  a  regi 
ment  of  a  thousand  men  to  be  raised,  equipped, 


198  THE    LOSSES.  [1862. 

and  sent  to  the  front  in  two  or  three  weeks.  Some 
of  these  new  regiments  were  suddenly  introduced 
to  the  realities  of  war  at  Antietam,  and  suffered 
frightfully.  For  example,  the  i6th  Connecticut, 
which  there  fired  its  muskets  for  the  first  time, 
went  in  with  nine  hundred  and  forty  men,  and  lost 
four  hundred  and  thirty-two.  On  the  other  side, 
Lawton's  Confederate  brigade  went  in  with 
eleven  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  lost  five 
hundred  and  fifty-four,  including  five  out  of  its  six 
regimental  commanders,  while  Hays's  lost  three 
hundred  and  twenty-three  out  of  five  hundred  and 
fifty,  including  every  regimental  commander  and 
all  the  staff  officers.  Three  Confederate  generals 
were  killed,  and  eight  were  wounded.  General 
McClellan  reported  his  entire  loss  at  twelve  thou 
sand  four  hundred  and  sixty-nine,  of  whom  two 
thousand  and  ten  were  killed.  General  Lee  re 
ported  his  total  loss  in  the  Maryland  battles  as 
fifteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven  killed  and  eighty- 
seven  hundred  and  twenty-four  wounded,  saying 
nothing  of  the  missing  ;  but  the  figures  given  by 
his  division  commanders  foot  up  eighteen  hun 
dred  and  forty-two  killed,  ninety-three  hundred  and 
ninety-nine  wounded,  and  twenty-two  hundred  and 
ninety-two  missing — total,  thirteen  thousand  five 
hundred  and  thirty-three.  If  McClellan's  report  is 
correct,  even  this  statement  falls  short  of  the  truth. 
He  says  :  "  About  twenty-seven  hundred  of  the 
enemy's  dead  were  counted  and  buried  upon 
the  battle-field  of  Antietam.  A  portion  of  their 
dead  had  been  previously  buried  by  the  enemy.'* 


THE    RESULTS.  1 99 

If  the  wounded  were  in  the  usual  proportion,  this 
would  indicate  Confederate  casualties  to  th^  extent 
of  at  least  fifteen  thousand  on  that  field  alone. 
But  whatever  the  exact  number  may  have  been, 
the  battle  was  bloody  enough  to  produce  mourn 
ing  and  lamentation  from  Maine  to  Louisiana. 

Nothing  was  done  on  the  i8th,  and  when  Mc- 
Clellan  determined  to  renew  the  attack  on  the 
I9th,  he  found  that  his  enemy  had  withdrawn  from 
the  field  and  crossed  to  Virginia  by  the  ford  at 
Shepherdstown.  The  National  commander  re 
ported  the  capture  of  more  than  six  thousand 
prisoners,  thirteen  guns;  and  thirty-nine  battle- 
flags,  and  that  he  had  not  lost  a  gun  or  a  color. 
As  he  was  also  in  possession  of  the  field,  where 
the  enemy  left  all  their  dead  and  two  thousand  of 
their  wounded,  and  had  rendered  Lee's  invasion 
fruitless  of  anything  but  the  prisoners  carried  off 
from  Harper's  Ferry,  the  victory  was  his. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

EMANCIPATION. 

THE  war  had  now  (September,  1862)  been  in  prog 
ress  almost  a  year  and  a  half ;  and  nearly  twenty 
thousand  men  had  been  shot  dead  on  the  battle 
field,  and  upward  of  eighty  thousand  wounded, 
while  an  unknown  number  had  died  of  disease  con 
tracted  in  the  service,  or  been  carried  away  into 
captivity.  The  money  that  had  been  spent  by  the 
United  States  Government  alone  amounted  to 
about  one  billion  dollars.  All  this  time  there  was 
not  an  intelligent  man  in  the  country  but  knew  the 
cause  of  the  war  ;  and  yet  more  than  a  hundred 
thousand  American  citizens  were  killed  or  man 
gled  before  a  single  blow  was  delivered  directly  at 
that  cause.  General  Fremont  had  aimed  at  it ; 
General  Hunter  had  aimed  at  it ;  but  in  each  case 
the  arm  was  struck  up  by  the  Administration. 
One  would  naturally  suppose,  from  the  thorough 
ness  with  which  the  slavery  question  had  been  dis 
cussed  for  thirty  years,  that  when  the  time  came 
for  action  there  would  be  little  doubt  or  hesitation 
on  either  side.  On  the  Confederate  side  there 
was  neither  doubt  nor  hesitation.  On  the  Na 
tional  side  there  was  both  doubt  and  hesitation  ; 
and  it  took  a  long  time  to  arrive  at  a  determina 
tion  to  destroy  slavery  in  order  to  preserve  the 


1862.]      LINCOLN  S   ATTITUDE   TOWARD    SLAVERY.        2OI 

Union.  The  old  habit  of  compromise  and  concili 
ation  half  paralyzed  the  arm  of  war,  and  thou 
sands  of  well-meaning  citizens  were  unable  to  com 
prehend  the  fact  that  we  were  dealing  with  a  ques 
tion  that  it  was  useless  to  compromise  and  a 
force  that  it  was  impossible  to  conciliate. 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  hated  slavery  ever  since,  when 
a  young  man,  he  made  a  trip  on  a  flat-boat  to 
New  Orleans,  and  there  saw  it  in  some  of  its  more 
hideous  aspects.  That  he  realized  its  nature  and 
force  as  an  organized  institution  and  a  power  in 
politics,  appears  from  one  of  his  celebrated 
speeches,  delivered  in  1858,  wherein  he  declared 
that  as  a  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand, 
so  our  Government  could  not  endure  permanently 
half  slave  and  half  free.  "  Either  the  opponents 
of  slavery  will  arrest  the  further  spread  of  it,  and 
place  it  where  the  public  mind  shall  rest  in  the  be 
lief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction, 
or  its  advocates  will  push  it  forward  till  it  shall  be 
come  alike  lawful  in  all  the  States,  old  as  well  as 
new,  North  as  well  as  South."  Why  then,  hating 
slavery  personally,  and  understanding  it  politi 
cally,  and  knowing  it  to  be  the  cause  of  the  war, 
did  he  not  sooner  declare  it  abolished  ? 

On  the  one  hand,  he  was  not,  like  some  of  our 
chief  magistrates,  under  the  impression  that  he  had 
been  placed  in  office  to  carry  out  irresponsibly  a 
personal  policy  of  his  own ;  and  on  the  other  he 
was  shrewd  enough  to  know  that  it  would  be  as  fu 
tile  for  a  president  to  place  himself  far  in  advance 
of  his  people  on  a  great  question,  as  for  a  general 


2O2  THE    COST    OF    EMANCIPATION.  [1862. 

to  precede  his  troops  on  the  battle-field.  Hence 
he  turned  over  and  over,  and  presented  again  and 
again,  the  idea  that  the  war  might  be  stopped  and 
the  question  settled  by  paying  for  the  slaves  and 
liberating  them.  It  looked  like  a  very  simple  cal 
culation  to  figure  out  the  cost  of  purchased  eman 
cipation  and  compare  it  with  the  probable  cost  of 
the  war.  The  comparison  seemed  to  present  an 
unanswerable  argument,  and  in  the  end  the  money 
cost  pf  the  war  was  more  one  thousand  dollars  for 
every  slave  emancipated,  while  in  the  most  profit 
able  days  of  the  institution  the  blacks,  young  and 
old  together,  had  not  been  worth  over  half  that 
price.  The  fallacy  of  the  argument  lay  in  its 
blindness  to  the  fact  that  the  Confederates  were 
not  fighting  to  retain  possession  of  their  actual 
slaves,  but  to  perpetuate  the  institution  itself.  The 
unthrift  of  slavery  as  an  economic  system  had 
been  many  times  demonstrated,  notably  in  Helper's 
"  Impending  Crisis,"  but  these  demonstrations,  in 
stead  of  inducing  the  slaveholders  to  seek  to  get 
rid  of  it  on  the  best  attainable  terms,  appeared 
only  to  excite  their  anger.  And  it  ought  to  have 
been  seen  that  a  proud  people  with  arms  in  their 
hands,  either  flushed  with  victory  or  confident  in 
their  own  prowess,  no  matter  where  their  real  in 
terests  may  lie,  can  never  be  reasoned  with  except 
through  the  syllogisms  of  lead  and  steel.  Perhaps 
Mr.  Lincoln  did  know  it,  but  was  waiting  for  his 
people  to  find  it  out. 

The  Louisville,  Ky.,  "  Courier,"  in  a  paragraph 
quoted  on  page  70  of  this  volume,  had  told  a  great 


M'CLELLAN'S  POSITION.  203 

deal  of  bitter  and  shameful  truth  ;  but  when  it 
entered  upon  the  prophecy  that  the  North  would 
soon  resume  the  yoke  of  the  slaveholders,  it  was 
not  so  happy.  And  yet  it  had  strong  grounds  for 
its  confident  prediction.  Not  only  had  a  great 
Peace  Convention  been  held  in  February,  1861, 
which  strove  to  prevent  secession  by  offering  new 
guarantees  for  the  protection  of  slavery,  but  the 
chief  anxiety  of  a  large  number  of  Northern  citi 
zens  and  officers  in  the  military  service  appeared 
to  be  to  manifest  their  desire  that  the  institution 
should  not  be  harmed. 

The  most  eminent  of  the  Federal  generals, 
McClellan,  when  he  first  took  the  field  in  West 
Virginia,  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  Unionists, 
in  which  he  said  :  "  Notwithstanding  all  that  has 
been  said  by  the  traitors  to  induce  you  to  believe 
our  advent  among  you  will  be  signalized  by  an  in 
terference  with  your  slaves,  understand  one  thing 
clearly  :  not  only  will  we  abstain  from  all  such  in 
terference,  but  we  will,  on  the  contrary,  with  an 
iron  hand  crush  any  attempt  at  insurrection  on 
their  part."  In  pursuance  of  this,  he  returned  to 
their  owners  all  slaves  that  escaped  and  sought 
refuge  within  his  lines.  It  was  an  every-day  occur 
rence  for  slaveholders  who  were  in  active  rebellion 
against  the  Government  that  he  was  serving  to 
come  into  his  camps  under  flag  of  truce  and  de 
mand  and  receive  their  runaway  slaves.  The 
Hutchinsons,  a  family  of  popular  singers,  by  per 
mission  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  visited  his  camp 
in  the  winter  of  1861-2,  to  sing  to  the  soldiers. 


2O4  THE    DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  S    POSITION. 

But  when  the  General  found  them  singing  some 
stanzas  of  Whittier's  that  spoke  of  slavery  as  a 
curse  to  be  abolished,  he  forthwith  issued  an  order 
that  their  pass  should  be  revoked  and  they  should 
not  sing  any  more  to  the  troops.  And  even  after 
his  retreat  on  the  Peninsula,  McClellan  wrote  a 
long  letter  of  advice  to  the  President,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  said  :  "  Neither  confiscation  of  prop 
erty  .  .  .  nor  forcible  abolition  of  slavery  should 
be  contemplated  for  a  moment.  .  .  .  Military 
power  should  not  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  the 
relations  of  servitude,  either  by  supporting  or  im 
pairing  the  authority  of  the  master,  except  for 
repressing  disorder." 

In  all  this,  General  McClellan  was  only  clinging 
blindly  and  tenaciously  to  the  idea  that  had  under 
lain  the  whole  administration  of  the  government 
while  it  was  in  the  hands  of  his  party  :  that  the 
perpetuation  of  slavery,  whether  against  political 
opposition  or  against  the  growth  of  civilization 
and  the  logic  of  political  economy,  was  the  first 
purpose  of  the  Constitution  and  the  most  impera 
tive  duty  of  the  Government.  Democratic  politi 
cians  had  never  formulated  this  rule,  but  Demo 
cratic  Presidents  had  always  followed  it.  Presi 
dent  Polk  had  obeyed  it  when  with  one  hand  he 
secured  the  slave  State  of  Texas  at  the  cost  of  the 
Mexican  War,  and  with  the  other  relinquished  to 
Great  Britain  the  portion  of  Oregon  north  of  the 
49th  parallel,  but  for  which  we  should  now  possess 
every  harbor  on  the  Pacific  coast.  President  Pierce 
had  obeyed  it  when  he  sent  troops  to  Kansas  to 


1862.]  EFFECT    T/PON    ELECTIONS. 

assist  the  invaders  from  Missouri  and  overawe  the 
free -State  settlers.  President  Buchanan  had 
obeyed  it  when  he  vetoed  the  Homestead  Bill, 
which  would  have  accelerated  the  development  of 
the  northern  Territories  into  States.  And  in 
numerable  other  instances  might  be  cited.  The 
existence  of  this  party  in  the  North  was  the  most 
serious  embarrassment  with  which  the  Administra 
tion  had  to  contend  in  the  conduct  of  the  war- 
not  even  excepting  the  border  States.  As  individ 
uals,  its  members  were  undoubtedly  loyal  to  the 
Constitution  and  Government  as  they  understood 
them,  though  they  wofully  misunderstood  them. 
As  a  party,  it  was  placed  in  a  singular  dilemma. 
It  did  not  want  the  Union  dissolved  ;  for  without 
the  vote  of  the  slave  States  it  would  be  in  a  hope 
less  minority  in  Congress  and  at  every  Presiden 
tial  election  ;  but  neither  did  it  wish  to  see  its 
strongest  cohesive  element  overthrown,  or  its 
natural  leaders  defeated  and  exiled.  What  it 
wanted  was  "  the  Union  as  it  was,"  and  for  this  it 
continued  to  clamor  long  after  it  had  become  as 
plain  as  daylight  that  the  Union  as  it  was  could 
never  again  exist.  Whenever  the  National  armies 
met  with  a  reverse,  if  an  election  was  pending,  this 
party  was  the  gainer  thereby ;  if  they  won  a 
victory,  it  became  weaker.  Whenever  a  new 
measure  was  proposed,  Congress  and  the  Presi 
dent  were  obliged  to  consider  not  only  what  would 
be  its  legitimate  effect,  but  whether  in  any  way  the 
Democratic  press  could  use  it  as  a  weapon  against 
them.  Hence  the  idea  of  emancipation,  though 


2O6  PREDICTIONS    BY    THE    POETS.  [1842. 

not  altogether  slow  in  conception,  for  many  of  the 
ablest  minds  had  leaped  at  it  from  the  beginning, 
was  tardy  in  execution. 

As  early  as  1836  John  Quincy  Adams,  speaking 
in  Congress,  had  said  :  "  From  the  instant  that 
your  slaveholding  States  become  the  theatre  of 
war,  from  that  instant  the  war-powers  of  the  Con 
stitution  extend  to  interference  with  the  institution 
of  slavery  in  every  way  in  which  it  can  be  inter 
fered  with."  And  in  1842  he  had  expressed  the 
idea  more  strongly  and  fully  :  "  Whether  the  war 
be  civil,  servile,  or  foreign,  I  lay  this  down  as  the 
law  of  nations  —  I  say  that  the  military  authority 
takes  for  the  time  the  place  of  all  municipal  insti 
tutions,  slavery  among  the  rest.  Under  that  state 
of  things,  so  far  from  its  being  true  that  the  States 
where  slavery  exists  have  the  exclusive  manage 
ment  of  the  subject,  not  only  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  but  the  commander  of  the  army  has 
power  to  order  the  universal  emancipation  of  the 
slaves."  The  poets,  wiser  than  the  politicians,  had 
long  foretold  the  great  struggle  and  its  results. 
James  Russell  Lowell,  before  he  was  thirty  years 
of  age,  wrote  : 

"  Out  from  the  land  of  bondage  'tis  decreed  our  slaves  shall  go, 
And  signs  to  us  are  offered,  as  erst  to  Pharaoh. 
If  we  are  blind,  their  exodus,  like  Israel's  of  yore, 
Through  a  Red  Sea  is  doomed  to  be,  whose  surges  are  of  gore." 

Twenty  years  later  he  saw  his  prediction  fulfilled. 
But  generally  the  anticipation  was  that  the  insti 
tution  would  be  extinguished  through  a  general 


1861.]  SLAVES    DECLARED    CONTRABAND.  2C«7 

rising  of  the  slaves  themselves.     Thus  Henry  W. 
Longfellow  wrote  in  1841  : 

"  There  is  a  poor,  blind  Samson  in  this  land, 

Shorn  of  his  strength,  and  bound  in  bonds  of  steel, 
Who  may,  in  some  grim  revel,  raise  his  hand, 
And  shake  the  pillars  of  this  commonweal, 
Till  the  vast  temple  of  our  liberties 
A  shapeless  mass  of  wreck  and  rubbish  lies." 

It  seems  a  singular  fact  that  throughout  the  war 
there  was  no  insurrection  of  the  slaves.  They 
were  all  anxious  enough  for  liberty,  and  ran  away 
from  bondage  whenever  they  could  ;  but,  except 
by  regular  enlistment  in  the  National  army,  there 
never  was  any  movement  among  them  to  assist  in 
the  emancipation  of  their  race. 

The  first  refusal  to  return  fugitive  slaves  was 
made  as  early  as  May  26,  1861,  by  General  B.  F. 
Butler,  commanding  at  Fort  Monroe.  Three 
slaves,  who  had  belonged  to  Colonel  Mallory,  com 
manding  the  Confederate  forces  near  Hampton, 
came  within  Butler's  lines  that  day,  saying  they 
had  run  away  because  they  were  about  to  be  sent 
south.  Colonel  Mallory  sent  by  flag  of  truce  to 
claim  their  rendition  under  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law, 
but  was  informed  by  General  Butler  that,  as  slaves 
could  be  made  very  useful  to  a  belligerent  in 
working  on  fortifications  and  other  labor,  they 
were  contraband  of  war,  like  lead  or  powder  or  any 
other  war  material,  and  therefore  could  not  and 
would  not  be  delivered  up.  He  offered,  however, 
to  return  these  three  if  Colonel  Mallory  would 
come  to  his  headquarters  and  take  an  oath  to 


208  FREMONT'S  ACTION. 

obey  the  laws  of  the  United  States.  This  declara 
tion  —  at  once  a  witticism,  a  correct  legal  point, 
and  sound  common  sense — was  the  first  practical 
blow  that  was  struck  at  the  institution  ;  and  it  gave 
us  a  new  word,  for  from  that  time  fugitive  slaves 
were  commonly  spoken  of  as  "contrabands." 
They  came  into  the  National  camps  by  thousands, 
and  commanding  officers  and  correspondents  fre 
quently  questioned  the  more  intelligent  of  them, 
in  the  hope  of  eliciting  valuable  information  as  to 
the  movements  of  the  enemy  ;  but  so  many  apoc 
ryphal  stories  were  thus  originated  that  at  length 
"  intelligent  contraband  "  became  solely  a  term  of 
derision. 

The  next  step  was  the  passage  of  a  law  by 
Congress  (approved  August  6,  1861),  wherein  it 
was  enacted  that  property,  including  slaves,  actually 
employed  in  the  service  of  the  rebellion  with  the 
knowledge  and  consent  of  the  owner,  should  be 
confiscated,  and  might  be  seized  by  the  National 
forces  wherever  found.  But  it  cautiously  provided 
that  slaves  thus  confiscated  were  not  to  be  manu 
mitted  at  once,  but  to  be  held  subject  to  some 
future  decision  of  the  United  States  courts  or 
action  of  Congress. 

General  John  C.  Fremont,  the  first  Republican 
candidate  for  the  Presidency  (1856),  who  has  had 
a  more  romantic  life  than  any  other  living  Ameri 
can,  and  in  whose  administration,  instead  of 
Lincoln's,  the  war  would  have  occurred  if  he  had 
been  elected,  was  in  Europe  in  1861,  and  did  the 
Government  a  timely  service  in  the  purchase  of 


HUNTERS    PROCLAMATION.  2CX) 

arms.  Hastening  home,  he  was  made  a  Major- 
General,  and  given  command  in  Missouri.  On  the 
3Oth  of  August  he  issued  a  proclamation  placing 
the  whole  State  under  martial  law,  confiscating  the 
property  of  all  citizens  who  should  take  up  arms 
against  the  United  States  or  assist  its  enemies  by 
burning  bridges,  cutting  wires,  etc.,  and  adding, 
"  their  slaves,  if  any  they  have,  are  hereby  declared 
free  men."  The  President  called  General  Fre 
mont's  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  clause  relating 
to  slaves  was  not  in  conformity  with  the  act  of 
Congress,  and  requested  him  to  modify  it ;  to  which 
Fremont  replied  by  asking  for  an  open  order  to 
that  effect — in  plain  words,  that  the  President 
should  modify  it  himself,  which  Mr.  Lincoln  did. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1862,  the  President,  in  a 
special  message  to  Congress,  recommended  the 
adoption  of  a  joint  resolution  to  the  effect  that  the 
United  States  ought  to  co-operate  with,  and  ren 
der  pecuniary  aid  to,  any  State  that  should  enter 
upon  a  gradual  abolition  of  slavery ;  and  Congress 
passed  such  a  resolution  by  a  large  majority. 

General  David  Hunter,  who  commanded  the 
National  forces  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina, 
with  headquarters  at  Hilton  Head,  issued  a  gen 
eral  order  on  April  12,  1862,  that  all  slaves  in  Fort 
Pulaski  and  on  Cockspur  Island  should  be  confis 
cated  and  thenceforth  free.  On  the  gih  of  May 
he  issued  another  order,  wherein,  after  mentioning 
that  the  three  States  in  his  department — Georgia, 
Florida,  and  South  Carolina — had  been  declared 
under  martial  law,  he  proceeded  to  say  :  "  Slavery 


2IO  FIRST    ENLISTMENT  OF    BLACKS.  [1862. 

and  martial  law,  in  a  free  country,  are  altogether 
incompatible.  The  persons  in  these  three  States 
heretofore  held  as  slaves  are  therefore  declared 
forever  free."  On  the  igth  of  the  same  month  the 
President  issued  a  proclamation  annulling  General 
Hunter's  order,  and  adding  that  the  question  of 
emancipation  was  one  that  he  reserved  to  himself, 
and  could  not  feel  justified  in  leaving  to  the  decis 
ion  of  commanders  in  the  field.  General  Hunter 
also  organized  a  regiment  of  black  troops,  desig 
nated  as  the  ist  South  Carolina  Volunteers,  which 
was  the  first  body  of  negro  soldiers  mustered  into 
the  National  service  during  the  war.  This  pro 
ceeding,  which  now  seems  the  most  natural  and 
sensible  thing  the  General  could  have  done,  created 
serious  alarm  in  Congress.  A  Representative 
from  Kentucky  introduced  a  resolution  asking  for 
information  concerning  the  "  regiment  of  fugitive 
slaves,"  and  the  Secretary  of  War  referred  the  in 
quiry  to  General  Hunter,  who  promptly  answered: 
"  No  regiment  of  fugitive  slaves  has  been  or  is 
being  organized  in  this  department.  There  is, 
however,  a  fine  regiment  of  persons  whose  late 
masters  are  fugitive  rebels,  men  who  everywhere 
fly  before  the  appearance  of  the  National  flag, 
leaving  their  servants  behind  them  to  shift  as  best 
they  can  for  themselves.  In  the  absence  of  any 
fugitive-master  law,  the  deserted  slaves  would  be 
wholly  without  remedy,  had  not  their  crime  of 
treason  given  the  slaves  the  right  to  pursue,  cap 
ture,  and  bring  back  these  persons  of  whose  pro 
tection  they  have  been  so  suddenly  bereft." 


1862.]        DIVISION    OF    SENTIMENT    IN   THE    ARMY.       211 

Fremont's  and  Hunter's  attempts  at  emancipa 
tion  created  a  great  excitement,  the  Democratic 
journals  declaring  that  the  struggle  was  being 
"turned  into  an  abolition  war,"  and  many  Union 
men  in  the  border  States  expressing  the  gravest 
apprehensions  as  to  the  consequences.  The  com 
manders  were  by  no  means  of  one  mind  on  the 
subject.  General  Thomas  Williams,  commanding 
in  the  Department  of  the  Gulf,  ordered  that  all 
fugitive  slaves  should  be  expelled  from  his  camps 
and  sent  beyond  the  lines  ;  and  Colonel  Halbert  E. 
Paine,  of  the  4th  Wisconsin  regiment,  who  refused 
to  obey  the  order,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  "a 
violation  of  law  for  the  purpose  of  returning  fu 
gitives  to  rebels,"  was  deprived  of  his  command 
and  placed  under  arrest.  Colonel  Daniel  R.  An 
thony,  of  the  7th  Kansas  regiment,  serving  in  Ten 
nessee,  ordered  that  men  coming  in  and  demand 
ing  the  privilege  of  searching  for  fugitive  slaves 
should  be  turned  out  of  the  camp,  and  that  no 
officer  or  soldier  in  his  regiment  should  engage  in 
the  arrest  and  delivery  of  fugitives  to  their  mas 
ters  ;  and  for  this  Colonel  Anthony  received  from 
his  superior  officer  the  same  treatment  that  had 
been  accorded  to  Colonel  Paine.  The  division  of 
sentiment  ran  through  the  entire  army.  Soldiers 
that  would  rob  a  granary,  or  cut  down  trees,  or  re 
duce  fences  to  firewood  without  the  slightest  com 
punction,  still  recognized  the  ancient  taboo,  and 
expressed  the  nicest  scruples  in  regard  to  property 
in  slaves. 

On  the  I4th  of  July  the  President  recommended 


212  MARYLAND    ABOLISHES    SLAVERY.  [1864. 

to  Congress  the  passage  of  a  bill  for  the  payment, 
in  United  States  interest-bearing  bonds,  to  any 
State  that  should  abolish  slavery,  of  an  amount 
equal  to  the  value  of  all  slaves  within  its  borders 
according  to  the  census  of  1860;  and  at  the  same 
time  he  asked  the  Congressional  representatives 
of  the  border  States  to  use  their  influence  with 
their  constituents  to  bring  about  such  action  in 
those  States.  The  answer  was  not  very  favorable  ; 
but  Maryland  did  abolish  slavery  before  the  close 
of  the  war,  in  October,  1864.  On  the  very  day  in 
which  the  popular  vote  of  that  State  decided  to 
adopt  a  new  constitution  without  slavery,  October 
12,  died  Roger  B.  Taney,  a  native  of  Maryland, 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
who  had  been  appointed  by  the  first  distinctly 
pro-slavery  President,  and  from  that  bench  had 
handed  down  the  Dred-Scott  decision,  which  was 
calculated  to  render  forever  impossible  any  amel 
ioration  of  the  condition  of  the  negro  race. 

On  July  22,  1862,  all  the  National  command 
ers  were  ordered  to  employ  as  many  negroes  as 
could  be  used  advantageously  for  military  and 
naval  purposes,  paying  them  for  their  labor  and 
keeping  a  record  as  to  their  ownership,  "as  a 
basis  on  which  compensation  could  be  made  in 
proper  cases." 

Thus  events  were  creeping  along  toward  a  true 
statement  of  the  great  problem,  without  which  it 
could  never  be  solved,  when  Horace  Greeley, 
through  the  columns  of  his  "  Tribune,"  addressed 
an  open  letter  to  the  President  (August  19), 


1862.]     GREELEY    AND    LINCOLN    CORRESPONDENCE.      213 

entitling  it  "  The  Prayer  of  Twenty  Millions." 
It  exhorted  Mr.  Lincoln,  not  to  general  eman 
cipation,  but  to  such  an  execution  of  the  ex 
isting  laws  as  would  free  immense  numbers  of 
slaves  belonging  to  men  in  arms  against  the 
Government.  It  was  impassioned  and  power 
ful  ;  a  single  passage  will  show  its  character : 
"On  the  face  of  this  wide  earth,  Mr.  President, 
there  is  not  one  disinterested,  determined,  intelli 
gent  champion  of  the  Union  cause  who  does  not 
feel  that  all  attempts  to  put  down  the  rebellion, 
and  at  the  same  time  uphold  its  exciting  cause, 
are  preposterous  and  futile  ;  that  the  rebellion,  if 
crushed  out  to-morrow,  would  be  renewed  within 
a  year  if  slavery  were  left  in  full  vigor ;  that  army 
officers  who  remain  to  this  day  devoted  to  slavery 
can  at  best  be  but  half-way  loyal  to  the  Union  ; 
and  that  every  hour  of  deference  to  slavery  is  an 
hour  of  added  and  deepened  peril  to  the  Union." 
Any  one  less  a  genius  than  Mr.  Lincoln  would 
have  found  it  difficult  to  answer  Mr.  Greeleyat  all, 
and  his  answer  was  not  one  in  the  sense  of  being 
a  refutation,  but  it  exhibited  his  view  of  the  ques 
tion,  and  is  perhaps  as  fine  a  piece  of  literature  as 
was  ever  penned  by  any  one  in  an  official  capacity: 
"  If  there  be  perceptible  in  it  [Mr.  Greeley's  letter] 
an  impatient  and  dictatorial  tone,  I  waive  it  in  def 
erence  to  an  old  friend  whose  heart  I  have  always 
supposed  to  be  right.  .  .  .  As  to  the  policy  I '  seem 
to  be  pursuing,'  as  you  say,  I  have  not  meant  to 
leave  any  one  in  doubt.  .  .  .  My  paramount  ob 
ject  is  to  save  the  Union,  and  not  either  to  save  or 


214  EMANCIPATION    PROCLAIMED.  [1862. 

destroy  slavery.  If  I  could  save  the  Union  with 
out  freeing  any  slave,  I  would  do  it ;  if  I  could 
save  it  by  freeing  all  the  slaves,  I  would  do  it ;  and 
if  could  do  it  by  freeing  some  and  leaving  others 
alone,  I  would  also  do  that.  I  have  here  stated  my 
purpose  according  to  my  views  of  official  duty  ;  and 
I  intend  no  modification  of  my  oft-expressed  per 
sonal  wish  that  all  men  everywhere  could  be  free." 

In  truth,  the  President  was  already  contemplat 
ing  emancipation  as  a  war  measure,  and  about 
this  time  he  prepared  his  preliminary  proclamation; 
but  he  did  not  wish  to  issue  it  till  it  could  follow  a 
triumph  of  the  National  arms.  Pope's  defeat  in  Vir 
ginia  in  August  set  it  back ;  but  McClellan's  suc 
cess  at  Antietam,  though  not  the  decisive  victory 
that  was  wanted,  appeared  to  be  as  good  an  oppor 
tunity  as  was  likely  soon  to  present  itself,  and  five 
days  later  (September  22,  1862)  the  proclamation 
was  issued.  It  declared  that  the  President  would, 
at  the  next  session,  renew  his  suggestion  to  Con 
gress  of  pecuniary  aid  to  the  States  disposed  to 
abolish  slavery  gradually  or  otherwise,  and  gave 
notice  that  on  the  ist  of  January,  1863,  he  would 
declare  forever  free  all  persons  held  as  slaves 
within  any  State,  or  designated  part  of  a  State,the 
people  whereof  should  then  be  in  rebellion  against 
the  United  States.  On  that  day  he  issued  the 
final  and  decisive  proclamation,  as  promised,  in 
which  he  also  announced  that  black  men  would  be 
received  into  the  military  and  naval  service  of  the 
United  States. 

The  immediate  effect  of  this   action  was   what 


1862.]  HOW    IT   WAS    RECEIVED.  215 

had  been  expected.  The  friends  of  liberty,  and 
supporters  of  the  Administration  generally,rejoiced 
at  it,  believing  that  the  true  line  of  combat  had 
been  drawn  at  last.  Robert  Dale  Owen  probably 
expressed  the  opinion  of  most  of  them  when  he 
wrote,  "  The  true  and  fit  question  is  whether,  with 
out  a  flagrant  violation  of  official  duty,  the  Presi 
dent  had  the  right  to  refrain  from  doing  it."  The 
effect  in  Europe  is  said  to  have  been  decisive  of 
the  question  whether  the  Confederacy  should  be 
recognized  as  an  established  nation  ;  but  as  to  this 
there  is  some  uncertainty.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  much  friendship  for  the  Union  was  won  in 
England,  where  it  had  been  withheld  on  account 
of  our  attitude  on  the  slavery  question.  In  Man 
chester,  December  31,  a  mass-meeting  of  factory 
operatives  was  held,  and  resolutions  of  sympathy 
with  the  Union,  and  an  address  to  President  Lin 
coln,  were  voted.  The  full  significance  of  this  can 
only  be  understood  when  it  is  remembered  that 
these  men  were  largely  out  of  work  for  want  of 
the  cotton  that  the  blockade  prevented  the  South 
from  exporting.  The  Confederate  journals  chose 
to  interpret  the  proclamation  as  nothing  more  than 
an  attempt  to  excite  a  servile  insurrection.  The 
Democratic  editors  of  the  North  assailed  Mr.  Lin 
coln  with  every  verbal  weapon  of  which  they  were 
masters,  though  these  had  been  somewhat  blunted 
by  previous  use,  for  he  had  already  been  freely 
called  a  usurper,  a  despot,  a  destroyer  of  the  Con 
stitution,  and  a  keeper  of  Bastiles.  They  declared 
with  horror  (doubtless  in  some  cases  perfectly  sin- 


2l6  THE    POLITICAL    EFFECT.  [1862. 

cere)  that  the  proclamation  had  changed  the  whole 
character  of  the  war  !  And  this  was  true,  though 
not  in  the  sense  in  which  they  meant  it.  When  be 
gun,  it  was  a  war  for  a  temporary  peace ;  the  proc 
lamation  converted  it  into  a  war  for  a  permanent 
peace.  But  the  autumn  elections  showed  how  near 
Mr.  Lincoln  came  to  being  ahead  of  his  people  af 
ter  all ;  for  they  went  largely  against  the  Adminis 
tration,  and  even  in  the  States  that  the  Democrats 
did  not  carry  there  was  a  falling-off  in  the  Repub 
lican  majorities;  though  the  result  was  partly  due 
to  the  failure  of  the  Peninsula  campaign,  and  the 
escape  of  Lee's  army  after  Antietam.  Yet  this  did 
not  shake  the  great  emancipator's  faith  in  the  justice 
and  wisdom  of  what  he  had  done.  He  said  on  New 
Year's  evening  to  a  knot  of  callers,  "  The  signa 
ture  looks  a  little  tremulous,  for  my  hand  was 
tired,  but  my  resolution  was  firm.  I  told  them  in 
September,  if  they  did  not  return  to  their  alle 
giance  and  cease  murdering  our  soldiers,  I  would 
strike  at  this  pillar  of  their  strength.  And  now  the 
promise  shall  be  kept,  and  not  one  word  of  it  will 
I  ever  recall." 

If  we  wonder  at  the  slowness  with  which  that 
great  struggle  arrived  at  its  true  theme  and  issue, 
we  shall  do  well  to  note  that  it  has  a  close  parallel 
in  our  own  history.  The  first  battle  of  the  Revo 
lution  was  fought  in  April,  1775,  but  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence  was  not  made  till  July,  1776 

—  a  period  of  nearly  fifteen    months.     The    first 
battle  in  the  War  of  Secession  took  place  in  April, 

1861,    and    the    Emancipation    Proclamation  was 


1862.]  AN    HISTORICAL    PARALLEL.  21  7 

issued  in  September,  1862  —  seventeen  months.  In 
the  one  case,  as  in  the  other,  the  interval  was  filled 
with  doubt,  hesitation,  and  divided  counsels  ;  and 
Lincoln's  reluctance  finds  its  match  in  Washing 
ton's  confession  that  when  he  took  command  of 
the  army  (after  Lexington,  Concord,  and  Bunker 
Hill  had  been  fought)  he  still  abhorred  the  idea  of 
independence.  And  again,  as  the  great  Procla 
mation  was  preceded  by  the  attempts  of  Fremont 
and  Hunter,  so  the  great  Declaration  had  been 
preceded  by  those  of  Mendon,  Mass.,  Chester, 
Penn.,  and  Mecklenburg,  N.  C.,  which  anticipated 
its  essential  propositions  by  two  or  three  years. 
A  period  of  fifteen  or  seventeen  months,  however 
slow  for  an  individual,  is  perhaps  for  an  entire  peo 
ple  as  rapid  development  of  a  radical  purpose  as 
we  could  have  any  reason  to  expect. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

BURNSIDE'S  CAMPAIGN. 

AFTER  the  battle  of  the  Antietam,  Lee  withdrew 
to  the  neighborhood  of  Winchester,  where  he 
was  reenforced  till  at  the  end  of  a  month  he  had 
about  sixty-eight  thousand  men.  McClellan  fol 
lowed  as  far  as  the  Potomac,  and  there  seemed  to 
plant  his  army,  as  if  he  expected  it  to  sprout  and 
increase  itself  like  a  field  of  corn.  Ten  days  after 
he  defeated  Lee  on  the  Antietam,  he  wrote  to  the 
President  that  he  intended  to  stay  where  he  was, 
and  attack  the  enemy  if  they  attempted  to  re-cross 
into  Maryland  !  At  the  same  time,  he  constantly 
called  for  unlimited  reinforcements,  and  declared 
that,  even  if  the  city  of  Washington  should  be 
captured,  it  would  not  be  a  disaster  so  serious  as 
the  defeat  of  his  army.  Apparently  it  did  not 
occur  to  General  McClellan  that  these  two  contin 
gencies  were  logically  the  same.  For  if  Lee  could 
have  defeated  that  army,  he  could  then  have 
marched  into  Washington ;  or  if  he  could  have 
captured  Washington  without  fighting  the  army 
whose  business  it  was  to  defend  it,  the  army  would 
thereby  be  substantially  defeated. 

On  the  ist  of  October  the  President  visited 
General  McClellan  at  his  headquarters,  and  made 
himself  acquainted  with  the  condition  of  the  army. 


1868.]  M'CLELLAN'S  INACTION.  219 

Five  days  later  he  ordered  McClellan  to  "  cross 
the  Potomac,  and  give  battle  to  the  enemy,  or 
drive  him  south."  The  despatch  added,  "  Your 
army  must  move  now,  while  the  roads  are  good. 
If  you  cross  the  river  between  the  enemy  and 
Washington,  and  cover  the  latter  by  your  opera 
tion,  you  can  be  reenforced  with  thirty  thousand 
men."  Nevertheless,  McClellan  did  not  stir.  In 
stead  of  obeying  the  order,  he  inquired  what  sort 
of  troops  they  were  that  would  be  sent  to  him,  and 
how  many  tents  he  could  have,  and  said  his  army 
could  not  move  without  fresh  supplies  of  shoes  and 
clothing.  While  he  was  thus  paltering,  the  Con 
federate  General  Stuart,  who  had  ridden  around 
his  army  on  the  Peninsula,  with  a  small  body  of 
cavalry  rode  entirely  around  it  again,  eluding  all 
efforts  for  his  capture.  On  the  I3th  the  President 
wrote  along,  friendly  letter  to  General  McClellan, 
in  which*  he  gave  him  much  excellent  advice  that 
he,  as  a  trained  soldier,  ought  not  to  have  needed. 
A  sentence  or  two  will  suggest  the  drift  of  it : 
"  Are  you  not  overcautious  when  you  assume  that 
you  cannot  do  what  the  enemy  is  constantly  doing  ? 
...  In  coming  to  us,  he  [the  enemy]  tenders  us 
an  advantage  which  we  should  not  waive.  We 
should  not  so  operate  as  to  merely  drive  him  away. 
.  .  .  It  is  all  easy  if  our  troops  march  as  well  as 
the  enemy,  and  it  is  unmanly  to  say  they  cannot 
do  it."  The  letter  had  outlined  a  plan  of  campaign, 
but  it  closed  with  the  words,  characteristic  of  Lin 
coln's  modesty  in  military  matters,  "  This  letter  is 
in  no  sense  an  order."  Twelve  days  more  of  fine 


220  LINCOLN    TO    M'CLELLAN. 

weather  were  frittered  away  in  renewed  complaints, 
and  such  inquiries  as  whether  the  President  wished 
him  to  move  at  once  or  wait  for  fresh  horses,  for 
the  General  said  his  horses  were  fatigued  and  had 
sore  tongue.  Here  the  President  began  to  show 
some  impatience,  and  wrote  :  "  Will  you  pardon 
me  for  asking  what  the  horses  of  your  army  have 
done  since  the  battle  of  Antietam  that  fatigues 
anything  ?  "  The  General  replied  that  they  had 
been  scouting,  picketing,  and  making  reconnoissan- 
ces,  and  that  the  President  had  done  injustice  to 
the  cavalry.  Whereupon  Mr.  Lincoln  wrote  again  : 
"  Most  certainly  I  intend  no  injustice  to  any,  and 
if  I  have  clone  any  I  deeply  regret  it.  To  be  told, 
after  more  than  five  weeks'  total  inaction  of  the 
army,  and  during  which  period  we  had  sent  to  that 
army  every  fresh  horse  we  possibly  could,  amount 
ing  in  the  whole  to  7,918,  that  the  cavalry  horses 
were  too  much  fatigued  to  move,  presented  a  very 
cheerless,  almost  hopeless,  prospect  for  the  future, 
and  it  may  have  forced  something  of  impatience 
into  my  despatches."  That  day,  October  26, 
McClellan  began  to  cross  the  Potomac ;  but  it  was 
ten  days  (partly  owing  to  heavy  rains)  before  his 
army  was  all  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  and 
meanwhile  he  had  brought  up  new  questions  for 
discussion  and  invented  new  excuses  for  delay. 
He  wanted  to  know  to  what  extent  the  line  of  the 
Potomac  was  to  be  guarded ;  he  wanted  to  leave 
strong  garrisons  at  certain  points,  to  prevent  the 
army  he  was  driving  southward  before  him  from 
rushing  northward  into  Maryland  again  ;  he  dis- 


1868.]  BURNSIDE    IN    COMMAND.  221 

cussed  the  position  of  General  Bragg's  (Confeder 
ate)  army,  which  was  four  hundred  miles  away 
beyond  the  mountains  ;  he  said  the  old  regiments 
of  his  command  must  be  filled  up  with  recruits  be 
fore  they  could  go  into  action. 

McClellan  was  a  sore  puzzle  to  the  people  of  the 
loyal  States.  But  large  numbers  of  his  men  still 
believed  in  him,  and — as  is  usual  in  such  cases — 
intensified  their  personal  devotion  in  proportion  as 
the  distrust  of  the  people  at  large  was  increased. 
After  crossing  the  Potomac,  he  left  a  corps  at  Har 
per's  Ferry,  and  was  moving  southward  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  while  Lee  moved 
in  the  same  direction  on  the  western  side,  when, 
on  November  7,  the  President  solved  the  riddle 
that  had  vexed  the  country,  by  relieving  him  of 
the  command. 

The  successor  of  General  McClellan  was  Am 
brose  E.  Burnside,  then  in  his  thirty-ninth  year, 
who  was  graduated  at  West  Point  fifteen  years 
before,  had  commanded  cavalry  during  the  Mex 
ican  war,  had  invented  a  breech-loading  rifle,  which 
was  commercially  unsuccessful,  and  at  the  break 
ing  out  of  the  rebellion  was  treasurer  of  the  Illi 
nois  Central  Railroad.  When  the  ist  Rhode 
Island  regiment  went  to  Washington,  four  days 
after  the  President's  first  call  for  troops,  Burnside 
was  its  colonel.  He  commanded  a  brigade  at  the 
first  battle  of  Bull  Run  ;  led  an  expedition  that 
captured  Roanoke  Island,  New  Berne,  and  Beau 
fort,  N.C.,  in  January,  1862  ;  and  commanded  one 
wing  of  McClellan's  army  at  South  Mountain  and 


222  BURNSIDE    IN    COMMAND.  [1862. 

Antietam.  Whether  he  was  blameworthy  for  not 
crossing  the  Antietam  early  in  the  day  and  effect 
ing  a  crushing  defeat  of  Lee's  army,  is  a  disputed 
question.  It  might  be  worth  while  to  discuss  it, 
were  it  not  that  he  afterward  accepted  a  heavier 
responsibility  and  incurred  a  more  serious  accusa 
tion.  The  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
had  been  offered  to  him  twice  before,  but  he  had 
refused  it,  saying  that  he  "  was  not  competent  to 
command  such  a  large  army."  When  the  order 
came  relieving  McClellan  and  appointing  him,,  he 
consulted  with  that  general  and  with  his  staff  offi 
cers,  making  the  same  objection  ;  but  they  took 
the  ground  that  as  a  soldier  he  was  bound  to  obey 
without  question,  and  so  he  accepted  the  place, 
as  he  says,  "  in  the  midst  of  a  violent  snow-storm, 
with  the  army  in  a  position  that  I  knew  little  of." 
These  two  generals  were  warm  personal  friends, 
and  McClellan  remained  a  few  days  to  put  Burn- 
side  in  possession,  as  far  as  possible,  of  the  essential 
facts  in  relation  to  the  position  and  condition  of 
the  forces. 

At  this  time  the  right  wing  of  Lee's  army,  under 
Longstreet,  was  near  Culpeper,  and  the  left,  under 
Jackson,  was  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  Their 
separation  was  such  that  it  would  require  two  days 
for  one  to  march  to  the  other.  McClellan  said  he 
intended  to  endeavor  to  get  between  them  and 
either  beat  them  in  detail  or  force  them  to  unite 
as  far  south  as  Gordonsville.  Burnside  not  only 
did  not  continue  this  plan,  but  gave  up  the  idea 
that  the  Confederate  army  was  his  true  objective, 


1862.]  THE    POSITION    AT    FREDERICKSBURG.  223 

assumed  the  city  of  Richmond  to  be  such,  and 
set  out  for  that  place  by  way  of  the  north  bank 
of  the  Rappahannock  and  the  city  of  Fredericks- 
burg,  after  consuming  ten  days  in  reorganizing  his 
army  into  three  grand  divisions,  under  Sumner, 
Hooker,  and  Franklin.  On  the  i5th  of  November 
he  began  the  march  from  Warrenton ;  the  head  of 
his  first  column  reached  Falmouth  on  the  1 7th,  and 
by  the  2Oth  the  whole  army  was  there.  By  some 
blunder  (it  is  uncertain  whose)  the  pontoon  train 
that  was  to  have  met  the  army  at 'this  point,  and 
afforded  an  immediate  crossing  of  the  river,  did  not 
arrive  till  a  week  later  ;  and  by  this  time  Lee,  who 
chose  to  cover  his  own  capital  and  cross  the  path 
of  his  enemy,  rather  than  strike  at  his  communica 
tions,  had  placed  his  army  on  the  heights  south  and 
west  of  Fredericksburg,  and  at  once  began  to  for 
tify  them.  His  line  was  about  five  and  a  half  miles 
long,  and  was  as  strong  as  a  good  natural  position, 
earthworks,  and  an  abundance  of  artillery  could 
make  it.  He  could  not  prevent  Burnside  from 
crossing  the  river  ;  for  the  heights  on  the  left  bank 
rose  close  to  the  stream,  commanding  the  inter 
mediate  plain,  and  on  these  heights  Burnside  had 
one  hundred  and  forty-seven  guns.  What  with 
waiting  for  the  pontoons  and  establishing  his  base 
of  supplies  at  Acquia  Creek,  it  was  the  loth  of  De 
cember  before  the  National  commander  was  ready 
to  attempt  the  passage  of  the  stream.  He  planned 
to  lay  down  five  bridges — three  opposite  the  city 
and  the  others  two  miles  below — and  depended 
upon  his  artillery  to  protect  the  engineers. 


224 


LAYING   THE    BRIDGES. 


1862.] 


Before  daybreak  on  the  morning  of  the  nth, 
in  a  thick  fog,  the  work  was  begun  ;  but  the 
bridges  had  not  spanned  more  than  half  the  dis 
tance  when  the  sun  had  risen  and  the  fog  lifted 


sufficiently  to  reveal  what  was  going  on.  A  de 
tachment  of  Mississippi  riflemen  had  been  posted 
in  cellars,  behind  stone  walls,  and  at  every  point 
where  a  man  could  be  sheltered  on  the  south 
bank ;  and  now  the  incessant  crack  of  their 


1862]  CROSSING   THE    RAPPAHANNOCK.  225 

weapons  was  heard,  picking  off  the  men  that 
were  laying  the  bridges.  One  after  another  of 
the  blue-coats  reeled  with  a  bullet  in  his  brain, 
fell  into  the  water,  and  was  carried  down  by  the 
current,  till  the  losses  were  so  serious  that  it 
was  impossible  to  continue  the  work.  At  the 
lower  bridges  the  sharpshooters,  who  there  had 
no  shelter  but  rifle-pits  in  the  open  field,  were 
dislodged  after  a  time,  and  by  noon  those  bridges 
were  completed.  But  along  the  front  of  the 
town  they  had  better  shelter,  the  National  guns 
could  not  be  depressed  enough  to  shell  them,  and 
the  work  on  the  three  upper  bridges  came  to  a 
standstill.  Burnside  tried  bombarding  the  town, 
threw  seventy  tons  of  iron  into  it,  and  set  it  on 
fire  ;  but  still  the  sharpshooters  clung  to  their  hid 
ing-places,  and  when  the  engineers  tried  to  renew 
their  task  on  the  bridges,  under  cover  of  the  bom 
bardment,  they  were  destroyed  by  the  same  mur 
derous  fire. 

At  last  General  Hunt,  chief  of  artillery,  sug 
gested  a  solution  of  the  difficulty.  Three  regi 
ments  that  volunteered  for  the  service --the  7th 
Michigan  and  the  iQth  and  2Oth  Massachusetts 
—  crossed  the  river  in  pontoon  boats,  under  the 
fire  of  the  sharpshooters,  landed  quickly,  and 
drove  them  out  of  their  fastness,  capturing  a  hun 
dred  of  them,  while  the  remainder  escaped  to  the 
hills.  The  bridges  were  then  completed,  and  the 
crossing  was  begun  ;  but  it  was  evening  of  the 
1 2th  before  the  entire  army  was  on  the  Freder- 
icksburg  side  of  the  river. 


226  BURNSIDE'S  PLANS. 

On  the  morning  of  the  I3th  Burnsidewas  ready 
to  attack,  and  Lee  was  more  than  ready  to  be  at 
tacked.  He  had  concentrated  his  whole  army  on 
the  fortified  heights,  Longstreet's  corps  forming  his 
left  wing  and  Jackson's  his  right,  with  every  gun  in 
position  and  every  man  ready  and  knowing  what 
to  expect.  The  weak  point  of  the  line,  if  it  had 
any,  was  on  the  right,  where  the  ground  was  not 
so  high,  and  there  was  plenty  of  room  for  the  de 
ployment  of  the  attacking  force.  Here  Franklin 
commanded,  with  about  half  of  the  National  army; 
and  here,  according  to  Burnside's  first  plan,  the 
principal  assault  was  to  be  made.  But  there  ap 
pears  to  have  been  a  sudden  and  unaccountable 
change  in  the  plan  ;  and  when  the  hour  for  action 
arrived  Franklin  was  ordered  to  send  forward  a 
division  or  two,  and  hold  the  remainder  of  his 
force  ready  for  "  a  rapid  movement  down  the  old 
Richmond  road,"  while  Sumner  on  the  right  was 
ordered  to  send  out  two  divisions  to  seize  the 
heights  back  of  the  city.  Exactly  what  Burn- 
side  expected  to  do  next,  if  these  movements  had 
been  successful,  nobody  appears  to  know. 

The  division  chosen  to  lead  Franklin's  attack 
was  Meade's.  This  advanced  rapidly,  preceded 
by  a  heavy  skirmish  line,  while  his  batteries,  firing 
over  the  heads  of  the  troops,  shelled  the  heights 
vigorously.  Meade's  men  crossed  the  railroad 
under  a  heavy  fire  that  had  been  withheld  till  they 
were  within  close  range,  penetrated  between  two 
divisions  of  the  first  Confederate  line,  doubling 
back  the  flanks  of  both  and  taking  many  prison- 


1862.]  THE    ATTACK    ON    THE    HEIGHTS.  22  7 

ers  and  some  battle-flags,  scaled  the  heights,  and 
came  upon  the  second  line.  By  this  time  the  mo 
mentum  of  the  attack  was  spent,  and  the  fire  of 
the  second  line,  delivered  on  the  flanks  as  well  as 
in  front,  drove  them  back.  The  divisions  of  Gib 
bon  and  Doubleday  had  followed  in  support,  which 
relieved  the  pressure  upon  Meade  ;  and  when  all 
three  were  returning  unsuccessful  and  in  consider 
able  confusion,  Birney's  moved  out  and  stopped 
the  pursuing  enemy. 

Sumner's  attack  was  made  with  the  divisions  of 
French  and  Hancock,  which  moved  through  the 
town  and  deployed  in  columns  under  the  fire  of 
the  Confederate  batteries.  This  was  very  destruc 
tive,  but  was  not  the  deadliest  thing  that  the  men 
had  to  meet.  Marye's  Hill  was  skirted  near  its 
base  by  an  old  sunken  road,  at  the  outer  edge  of 
which  was  a  stone  wall ;  and  in  this  road  were  two 
brigades  of  Confederate  infantry.  It  could  hardly 
be  seen,  at  a  little  distance,  that  there  was  a  road 
at  all.  When  French's  charging  columns  had 
rushed  across  the  open  ground  under  an  artillery 
fire  that  ploughed  through  and  through  their 
ranks,  they  suddenly  confronted  a  sheet  of  flame 
and  lead  from  the  rifles  in  the  sunken  road.  The 
Confederates  here  were  so  numerous  that  each 
one  at  the  wall  had  two  or  three  behind  to  load 
muskets  and  hand  them  to  him,  while  he  had  only 
to  lay  them  flat  across  the  wall  and  fire  them  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  exposing  scarcely  more  than 
his  head.  Nearly  half  of  French's  men  were  shot 
down,  and  the  remainder  fell  back.  Hancock's 


228  THE    LOSSES. 

five  thousand  charged  in  the  same  manner,  and 
some  of  them  approached  within  twenty  yards  of 
the  wall ;  but  within  a  quarter  of  an  hour  they  also 
fell  back  a  part  of  the  distance,  leaving  two  thou 
sand  of  their  number  on  the  field.  Three  other 
divisions  advanced  to  the  attack,  but  with  no 
better  result ;  and  all  of  them  remained  in  a  posi 
tion  where  they  were  just  out  of  reach  of  the  rifles 
in  the  sunken  road,  but  were  still  played  upon  by 
the  Confederate  artillery. 

Burnside  now  grew  frantic,  and  ordered  Hooker 
to  attack.  That  officer  moved  out  with  three 
divisions,  made  areconnoissance,  and  went  back  to 
tell  Burnside  it  was  useless  and  persuade  him  to 
give  up  the  attempt.  But  the  commander  insisted, 
and  so  Hooker's  four  thousand  rushed  forward 
with  fixed  bayonets,  and  presently  came  back  like 
the  rest,  leaving  seventeen  hundred  dead  or 
wounded  on  the  field. 

The  entire  National  loss  in  this  battle  was 
12,353  m  killed,  wounded,  or  missing,  though 
some  of  the  missing  afterward  rejoined  their  com 
mands.  Hancock's  division  lost  one  hundred  and 
fifty-six  officers,  and  one  of  his  regiments  lost  two 
thirds  of  its  men.  The  Confederate  loss  was 
5,309.  In  the  night  the  Union  troops  brought  in 
their  wounded  and  buried  some  of  their  dead. 
Severe  as  his  losses  had  been,  Burnside  planned  to 
make  a  fresh  attempt  the  next  day,  with  the  Ninth 
Corps  (his  old  command),  which  he  proposed  to 
lead  in  person  ;  but  General  Sumner  dissuaded 
him,  though  with  difficulty.  In  the  night  of  the 


1862.]  SIGNIFICANCE    OF    THE    BATTLE.  22$ 

1 5th,  in  the  midst  of  a  storm,  the  army  was  with 
drawn  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Rappahannock, 
and  the  sorry  campaign  was  ended. 

If  it  had  been  at  all  necessary  to  prove  the 
courage  and  discipline  of  the  National  troops, 
Fredericksburg  proved  it  abundantly.  There  were 
few  among  them  that  December  morning  who  did 
not  look  upon  it  as  hopeless  to  assault  those  forti 
fied  slopes ;  yet  they  obeyed  their  orders,  and 
moved  out  to  the  work  as  if  they  expected  victory, 
suffering  such  frightful  losses  as  bodies  of  troops 
are  seldom  called  upon  to  endure,  and  retiring 
with  little  disorder  and  no  panic.  The  English 
correspondent  of  the  London  "  Times,"  writing 
from  Lee's  headquarters,  exultingly  predicted  the 
speedy  decline  and  fall  of  the  American  Republic. 
If  he  had  been  shrewd  enough  to  see  what  was 
indicated,  rather  than  what  he  hoped  for,  he  would 
have  written  that  with  such  courage  and  discipline 
as  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  displayed,  and 
superior  resources,  the  final  victory  was  certain  to 
be  theirs,  however  they  might  first  suffer  from  in 
competent  commanders  ;  that  the  Republic  that 
had  set  such  an  army  in  the  field,  and  had  the 
material  for  several  more,  was  likely  to  contain 
somewhere  a  general  worthy  to  lead  it,  and  was 
not  likely  to  be  overthrown  by  any  insurrection 
of  a  minority  of  its  people. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ROSECRANS  AND  HOOKER. 

THE  year  1863  began  with  several  events  of  the 
first  importance.  On  December  31  and  January 
2  there  was  a  great  battle  in  the  West.  On  New 
Year's  day  the  final  proclamation  of  emancipation 
was  issued,  and  measures  were  taken  for  the  im 
mediate  enlistment  of  black  troops.  On  that  day, 
also,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  which  furnished 
one  sixth  of  all  the  men  called  into  the  National 
service,  the  executive  power  passed  into  hands  un 
friendly  to  the  Administration. 

The  Confederate  Congress  in  1862  passed  a 
sweeping  conscription  act,  forcing  into  the  ranks 
every  man  of  military  age.  Even  boys  of  sixteen 
were  taken  out  of  school  and  sent  to  camps  of  in 
struction.  This  largely  increased  their  forces  in 
the  field,  and  at  the  West  especially  they  exhibited 
a  corresponding  activity.  General  Beauregard, 
whose  health  had  failed,  was  succeeded  by  General 
Braxton  Bragg,  a  man  of  more  energy  than  ability, 
who,  with  forty  thousand  men,  marched  northward 
into  eastern  Kentucky,  defeating  a  National  force 
near  Richmond,  and  another  at  Mumfordsville. 
He  then  assumed  that  Kentucky  was  a  State  of 
the  Confederacy,  appointed  a  provisional  Governor, 
forced  Kentuckians  into  his  army,  and  robbed 


BATTLE   OF    PERRYVILLE. 


231 


the  farmers,  not  only  of  their  stock  and  provisions, 
but  of  their  wagons  for  carrying  away  the  plunder, 
paying  them  in  worthless  Confederate  money.  He 
carried  with  him  twenty  thousand  muskets,  expect 
ing  to  find  that  number  of  Kentuckians  who  would 
enroll  themselves  in  his  command  ;  but  he  con 
fessed  afterward  that  he  did  not  even  secure  enough 


recruits  to  take 


up 


the  arms   that   fell    from  the 


hands  of  his  dead  and  wounded.  With  the  supplies 
collected  by  his  army  of  "  liberators,"  as  he  called 
them,  in  a  wagon-train  said  to  have  been  forty 
miles  long,  he  was  moving  slowly  back  into  Ten 
nessee,  when  General  Buell,  with  about  fifty-eight 
thousand  men  (one  third  of  them  new  recruits), 
marched  in  pursuit. 

Bragg  turned  and  gave  battle  at  Perryville 
(October  8),  and  the  fight  lasted  nearly  all  day. 
At  some  points  it  was  desperate,  with  hand-to- 
hand  fighting,  and  troops  charging  upon  batteries 
where  the  gunners  stood  to  their  pieces  and  blew 


232  BATTLE    OF    FERRYVILLE. 

them  from  the  very  muzzles.  The  National  left, 
composed  entirely  of  raw  troops,  was  crushed  by  a 
heavy  onset ;  but  the  next  portion  of  the  line,  com 
manded  by  General  Philip  H.  Sheridan,  not  only 
held  its  ground  and  repelled  the  assault,  but  fol 
lowed  up  the  retiring  enemy  with  a  counter  attack. 
Gooding's  brigade  (National)  lost  five  hundred 
and  forty-nine  men  out  of  fourteen  hundred 
and  twenty-three,  and  its  commander  became  a 
prisoner.  When  night  fell,  the  Confederates  had 
been  repelled  at  all  points,  and  a  portion  of  them 
had  been  driven  through  Perryville,  losing  many 
wagons  and  prisoners.  Buell  prepared  to  attack 
at  daylight,  but  found  that  Bragg  had  moved  off 
in  the  night  with  his  whole  army,  continuing  his 
retreat  to  east  Tennessee,  leaving  a  thousand  of 
his  wounded  on  the  ground.  He  also  abandoned 
twelve  hundred  of  his  men  in  hospital  at  Harrods- 
burg,  with  large  quantities  of  his  plunder,  some  of 
which  he  burned,  and  made  all  haste  to  get  away. 
Buell  reported  his  loss  in  the  battle  as  forty, 
three  hundred  and  forty-eight,  which  included 
Generals  James  S.  Jackson  and  William  R.  Ter- 
rill  killed.  Bragg's  loss  was  probably  larger, 
though  he  gave  considerably  smaller  figures. 
General  Halleck,  at  Washington,  now  planned  for 
Buell's  army  a  campaign  in  east  Tennessee  ;  but 
as  that  was  more  than  two  hundred  miles  away, 
and  the  communications  were  not  provided  for, 
Buell  declined  to  execute  it.  For  this  reason,  and 
also  on  the  ground  that  if  he  had  moved  more 
rapidly  and  struck  more  vigorously  he  might  have 


1862,]  BATTLES     OF     lUlvA    AND     CORINTH.  233 

destroyed  Bragg's  army,  he  was  removed  from 
command,  and  General  William  S.  Rosecrans  suc 
ceeded  him. 

In  September,  when  Bragg  had  first  moved 
northward,  a  Confederate  army  of  about  forty 
thousand  men,  under  Generals  Price  and  Van 
Dorn,  had  crossed  from  Arkansas  into  Mississippi, 
with  the  purpose  of  capturing  Grant's  position  at 
Corinth,  and  thus  breaking  the  National  line  of 
defence  and  cooperating  with  Bragg.  Price  seized 
luka,  southwest  of  Corinth,  and  Grant  sent  out 
against  him  a  force  under  Rosecrans.  They 
fought  a  battle,  on  September  19,  with  a  loss  of 
about  seven  hundred  men  on  each  side,  and  in  the 
night  Price  retreated  and  joined  Van  Dorn.  The 
combined  force  afterward  (October  3)  attempted 
the  capture  of  Corinth,  where  Rosecrans  was  in 
immediate  command  with  about  twenty  thousand 
men.  The  place  was  especially  tempting  to  the 
Confederates  because  of  the  enormous  amount  of 
supplies  in  store  there.  Rosecrans  had  taken  a 
position  three  miles  from  the  city,  and  in  the  first 
day's  fighting  the  enemy  forced  him  back  to  his 
intrenchments  and  captured  two  guns.  Van  Dorn 
entertained  no  doubt  of  taking  both  the  place  and 
its  defenders,  and  early  the  next  morning  assaulted 
the  intrenchments.  His  men  were  fearfully  cut 
down  by  discharges  of  grape  and  canister,  but  suc 
ceeded  in  breaking  through  the  line  of  works,  and 
even  made  their  way  into  the  city,  where  there  was 
desperate  fighting  in  the  streets.  Reinforcements 
were  brought  up  for  Rosecrans,  the  tide  was  turned, 


234       ROSECRANS  SUPERSEDES  BUELL. 

and  the  Confederates  were  driven  out  again  and 
repelled  all  along  the  line,  after  which  they  re 
treated  in  great  haste,  leaving  their  dead  and 
wounded  on  the  field.  Their  loss  was  about 
six  thousand ;  that  of  the  National  forces  was 
twenty-three  hundred  and  fifty-nine.  The  re 
treat  began  about  noon  ;  but  Rosecrans  did  not 
begin  pursuit  till  the  next  morning,  when  it  was 
too  late,  and  then  he  took  the  wrong  road.  Grant 
had  expected  him  to  gain  a  victory,  and  ordered 
him  in  that  event  to  pursue  without  the  loss  of  an 
hour ;  and  to  make  sure  of  crushing  Van  Dorn's 
army,  Grant  at  the  same  time  sent  a  force  to  strike 
it  in  flank.  He  was  greatly  displeased  at  the  dila- 
toriness  of  Rosecrans,  the  more  so  as  it  was  an 
exact  repetition  of  a  mistake  made  at  luka,  and  for 
this  reason  that  general  was  soon  relieved  from 
further  service  under  Grant.  The  Confederate 
authorities  were  also  dissatisfied  with  their  general, 
for  they  accounted  the  defeat  at  Corinth  a  heavy 
disaster,  and  Van  Dorn  was  soon  superseded  by 
General  John  C.  Pemberton. 

When  Rosecrans  superseded  Buell,  his  army — 
thenceforth  called  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland- 
was  at  Bowling  Green,  slowly  pursuing  Bragg. 
Rosecrans  sent  a  portion  of  it  to  the  relief  of 
Nashville,  which  was  besieged  by  a  Confederate 
force,  and  employed  the  remainder  in  repairing  the 
railroad  from  Louisville,  over  which  his  supplies 
must  come.  This  done,  about  the  end  of  Novem 
ber  he  united  his  forces  at  Nashville.  At  the  same 
time,  Bragg  was  ordered  to  move  forward  again, 


BATTLE    OF    STONE    RIVER.  235 

and  went  as  far  as  Murfreesboro,  forty  miles  from 
Nashville,  where  he  fortified  a  strong  position  on 
Stone  River,  a  shallow  stream,  fordable  at  nearly 
all  points.  There  was  high  festivity  among  the 
secessionists  in  Murfreesboro  that  winter ;  for 
Bragg  had  brought  much  plunder  from  Kentucky. 
No  one  dreamed  that  Rosecrans  would  attack  the 
place  before  spring,  and  several  roving  bands  of 
guerilla  cavalry  wrere  very  active,  and  performed 
some  exciting  if  not  important  exploits.  The 
leader  of  one  of  these,  John  H.  Morgan,  was  mar 
ried  in  Murfreesboro,  the  ceremony  being  per 
formed  by  Bishop  and  General  Leonidas  Polk, 
and  Jefferson  Davis  being  present.  It  is  said 
that  the  floor  was  carpeted  with  a  United  States 
flag,  on  which  the  company  danced,  to  signify  that 
they  had  put  its  authority  under  their  feet. 

The  revelry  was  rudely  interrupted  when  Rose 
crans,  leaving  Nashville  with  forty-three  thousand 
men,  in  a  rain-storm,  the  day  after  Christmas,  en 
camped  on  the  3Oth  within  sight  of  Bragg's  in- 
trenchments.  He  intended  to  attack  the  next  day  ; 
but  Bragg  anticipated  him,  crossed  the  river  before 
sunrise,  concealed  by  a  thick  fog,  reached  the 
woods  on  the  right  of  the  National  line,  and  burst 
out  upon  the  bank  in  overwhelming  force.  Mc- 
Cook's  command,  on  the  extreme  right,  was  crum 
bled  and  thrown  back,  losing  several  guns  and 
many  prisoners.  Sheridan's  command,  next  in  line, 
made  a  stubborn  fight  till  its  ammunition  was 
nearly  exhausted,  and  then  slowly  retired.  General 
Thomas's  command,  which  formed  the  centre,  now 


236  BATTLE    OF    STONE    RIVER.  [1862. 

held  the  enemy  back  till  Rosecrans  established  a 
new  line,  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  first,  with 
artillery  advantageously  posted,  when  Thomas  fell 
back  to  this  and  maintained  his  ground.  Through 
the  forenoon  the  Confederates  had  seemed  to  have 
every  thing  their  own  way,  and  they  had  inflicted 
grievous  loss  upon  Rosecrans,  besides  sending 
their  restless  cavalry  to  annoy  his  army  in  the 
rear.  But  here,  as  usual,  the  tide  was  turned.  The 
first  impetuous  rush  of  the  Southern  soldier  had 
spent  itself,  and  the  superior  staying  qualities  of 
his  Northern  opponent  began  to  tell.  Bragg  hurled 
his  men  again  and  again  upon  the  new  line  ;  but 
as  they  left  the  cedar  thickets  and  charged  across 
the  open  field  they  were  mercilessly  swept  down 
by  artillery  and  musketry  fire,  and  every  effort  was 
fruitless.  Even  when  seven  thousand  fresh  men 
were  drawn  over  from  Bragg's  right  and  thrown 
against  the  National  centre,  the  result  was  still  the 
same.  The  day  ended  with  Rosecrans  immovable 
in  his  position  ;  but  he  had  been  driven  from  half 
of  the  ground  that  he  held  in  the  morning,  and  had 
lost  twenty-eight  guns  and  many  men,  while  the 
enemy's  cavalry  was  upon  his  communications. 
Finding  that  he  had  ammunition  enough  for  an 
other  battle,  he  determined  to  remain  where  he  was 
and  sustain  another  assault.  His  men  slept  on 
their  arms  that  night,  and  the  next  day  there  was 
no  evidence  of  any  disposition  on  either  side  to 
attack.  Both  sides  were  correcting  their  lines, 
constructing  rifle-pits,  caring  for  their  wounded, 
and  preparing  for  a  renewal  of  the  fight. 


1862]  BATTLE    OF    STONE    RIVER.  237 

This  came  on  the  second  day  of  the  new  year, 
when  there  was  some  desultory  fighting,  and  Rose- 
crans  advanced  a  division  across  the  stream  to 
strike  at  Bragg's  communications.  Breckenridge's 
command  was  sent  to  attack  this  division,  and 
drove  it  back  to  the  river,  when  Breckenridge  sud 
denly  found  himself  subjected  to  a  terrible  artillery 
fire,  and  lost  two  thousand  men  in  twenty  minutes. 
Following  this,  a  charge  by  National  infantry  drove 
him  back  with  a  loss  of  four  guns  and  many  pris 
oners,  and  this  ended  the  great  battle  of  Stone 
River,  or  Murfreesboro.  After  the  repulse  of  Breck 
enridge,  Rosecrans  advanced  his  left  again,  and 
that  night  occupied  with  some  of  his  batteries  high 
ground,  from  which  Murfreesboro  could  be  shelled. 
The  next  day  there  was  a  heavy  rain-storm,  and  in 
the  ensuing  night  the  Confederate  army  quietly 
retreated,  leaving  Murfreesboro  to  its  fate.  Rose 
crans  reported  his  loss  in  killed  and  wrounded  as 
eighty-seven  hundred  and  seventy-eight,  and  in 
prisoners  as  somewhat  fewer  than  twenty-eight 
hundred.  Bragg  acknowledged  a  loss  of  over 
ten  thousand,  and  claimed  that  he  had  taken 
over  six  thousand  prisoners. 

There  was  great  disappointment  and  dissatisfac 
tion  among  the  secessionists  at  the  failure  of  Lee's 
invasion  of  Maryland  and  Bragg's  of  Kentucky. 
Pollard,  the  Southern  historian,  wrote,  "  No  sub 
ject  was  at  once  more  dispiriting  and  perplexing  to 
the  South  than  the  cautious  and  unmanly  recep 
tion  given  to  our  armies  both  in  Kentucky  and 
Maryland."  They  seemed  unable  to  comprehend 


238  ENLISTMENT    OF    NEGROES.  [1863. 

how  there  could  be  such  a  thing  as  a  slave  State 
that  did  not  want  to  break  up  the  Union. 

The  part  of  President  Lincoln's  proclamation 
that  created  most  excitement  at  the  South  was  not 
that  which  declared  the  freedom  of  the  blacks  — 
for  the  secessionists  professed  to  be  amused  at  this 
as  a  papal  bull  against  a  comet  —  but  that  which 
announced  that  negroes  would  thenceforth  be  re 
ceived  into  the  military  service  of  the  United 
States.  Whatever  might  be  said  of  the  powerless- 
ness  of  the  Government  to  liberate  slaves  that 
were  within  the  Confederate  lines,  it  was  plain 
enough  that  a  determination  to  enlist  colored 
troops  brought  in  a  large  resource  hitherto  un 
touched.  Military  men  in  Europe,  having  only 
statistical  knowledge  of  our  negro  population,  and 
not  understanding  the  peculiar  prejudices  that 
hedged  it  about,  had  looked  on  at  first  in  amaze 
ment  and  finally  in  contempt  at  its  careful  exclu 
sion  from  military  service.  The  Confederates  had 
no  special  scruples  about  negro  assistance  on  their 
own  side  ;  for  they  not  only  constantly  employed 
immense  numbers  of  blacks  in  building  fortifica 
tions  and  in  camp  drudgery,  but  had  even  armed 
and  equipped  a  few  of  them  for  service  as  soldiers. 
In  a  review  of  Confederate  troops  at  New  Orleans, 
in  the  first  year  of  the  war,  appeared  a  regiment  of 
free  negroes,  and  early  the  next  year  the  Legisla 
ture  of  Virginia  provided  for  the  enrolment  of  the 
same  class. 

But  the  idea  that  emancipated  slaves  should  be 
employed  to  fight  against  their  late  masters  and 


1863.]  THE    BLACK    FLAG.  239 

for  the  enfranchisement  of  their  own  race,  ap 
peared  to  be  new,  startling,  and  unwelcome  ;  and 
the  Confederates,  both  officially  and  unofficially, 
threatened  the  direst  penalties  against  all  who 
should  lead  black  soldiers,  as  well  as  against  such 
soldiers  themselves.  General  Beauregard  wrote  to 
a  friend  in  the  Congress  at  Richmond  :  "  Has  the 
bill  for  the  execution  of  Abolition  prisoners,  after 
January  next,  been  passed  ?  Do  it,  and  England 
will  be  stirred  into  action.  It  is  high  time  to  pro 
claim  the  black  flag  after  that  period.  Let  the 
execution  be  with  the  garrote."  Mr.  Davis,  late 
in  December,  1862,  issued  a  proclamation  outlaw 
ing  General  Butler  and  all  commissioned  officers 
in  his  command,  and  directing  that  whenever  cap 
tured  they  should  be  reserved  for  execution,  and 
added  "That  all  negro  slaves  captured  in  arms  be 
at  once  delivered  over  to  the  executive  authorities 
of  the  respective  States  to  which  they  belong,  to 
be  dealt  with  according  to  the  laws  of  said  States," 
and  "  That  the  like  orders  be  executed  with  respect 
to  all  commissioned  officers  of  the  United  States, 
when  found  serving  in  company  with  said  slaves." 
The  Confederate  Congress  passed  a  series  of  reso 
lutions  in  which  it  was  provided  that  on  the  cap 
ture  of  any  white  commissioned  officer  who  had 
armed,  organized,  or  led  negro  troops  against  the 
Confederacy,  he  should  be  tried  by  a  military  court 
and  put  to  death  or  otherwise  punished. 

Democratic  journalists  and  Congressmen  at  the 
North  were  hardly  less  violent  in  their  opposition 
to  the  enlistment  of  black  men.  They  denounced 


240  BLACK    MEN    IN    FORMER    WARS.  [1863. 

the  barbarity  of  the  proceeding,  declared  that 
white  soldiers  would  be  disgraced  if  they  fought 
on  the  same  field  with  blacks,  and  anon  demon 
strated  the  utter  incapacity  of  negroes  for  war, 
and  laughed  at  the  idea  that  they  would  ever  face 
an  enemy.  Most  of  the  Democratic  Senators  and 
Representatives  voted  against  the  appropriation 
bills,  or  supported  amendments  providing  that 
"  no  part  of  the  moneys  shall  be  applied  to  the 
raising,  arming,  equipping,  or  paying  of  negro  sol 
diers,"  and  the  more  eloquent  of  them  drew  pitiful 
pictures  of  the  ruin  and  anarchy  that  were  to 
ensue.  Representative  Samuel  S.  Cox,  then  of 
Ohio,  said  :  "  Every  man  along  the  border  will  tell 
you  that  the  Union  is  forever  rendered  hopeless 
if  you  pursue  this  policy  of  taking  the  slaves  from 
the  masters  and  arming  them  in  this  civil  strife." 
Nevertheless,  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 
negroes  were  enlisted,  and  many  of  them  performed 
notable  service,  displaying,  at  Fort  Wagner,  Olus- 
tee,  and  elsewhere,  quite  as  much  steadiness  and 
courage  as  any  white  troops.  If  the  expressions 
of  doubt  as  to  the  military  value  of  the  colored 
race  were  sincere,  they  argued  inexcusable  igno 
rance  ;  for  black  soldiers  had  fought  in  the  ranks 
of  our  Revolutionary  armies,  and  Perry's  victory 
on  Lake  Erie  in  1813  —  which,  with  the  battle  of 
the  Thames,  secured  us  the  great  Northwest  —  was 
largely  the  work  of  colored  sailors. 

The  President  recognized  the  obligation  of  the 
Government  to  protect  all  its  servants  by  every 
means  in  its  power,  and  issued  a  proclamation 


1863.]  LINCOLN  S    LETTER   TO    HOOKER.  24! 

directing  that  "  for  every  soldier  of  the  United 
States  killed  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  war,  a 
rebel  soldier  shall  be  executed  ;  and  for  every  one 
enslaved  by  the  enemy  or  sold  into  slavery,  a  rebel 
soldier  shall  be  placed  at  hard  labor  on  the  public 
works."  But  such  retaliation  was  never  resorted  to. 
After  Burnside's  failure  at  Fredericksburg,  he 
was  superseded,  January  25,  1863,  by  General 
Joseph  Hooker,  who  had  commanded  one  of  his 
grand  divisions.  Hooker,  now  forty-eight  years 
old,  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  had  seen  ser 
vice  in  the  Florida  and  Mexican  wars,  had  been 
through  the  Peninsula  campaign  with  McClellan, 
was  one  of  our  best  corps  commanders,  and  was  a 
favorite  with  the  soldiers,  who  called  him  "  fighting 
Joe  Hooker."  In  giving  the  command  to  General 
Hooker,  President  Lincoln  accompanied  it  with  a 
remarkable  letter,  which  not  only  exhibits  his  own 
peculiar  genius  but  suggests  some  of  the  compli 
cated  difficulties  of  the  military  and  political 
situation.  He  wrote  :  "  I  have  placed  you  at  the 
head  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Of  course  I 
have  done  this  upon  what  appear  to  me  sufficient 
reasons,  and  yet  I  think  it  best  for  you  to  know 
there  are  some  things  in  regard  to  which  I  am  not 
quite  satisfied  with  you.  I  believe  you  to  be  a 
brave  and  skilful  soldier,  which  of  course  I  like.  I 
also  believe  you  do  not  mix  politics  with  your  pro 
fession,  in  which  you  are  right.  You  have  confi 
dence  in  yourself,  which  is  a  valuable  if  not 
indispensable  quality.  You  are  ambitious,  which, 
within  reasonable  bounds,  does  good  rather  than 


242  HOOKER    IN    COMMAND.  [1863. 

harm  ;  but  I  think  that  during  General  Burnside's 
command  of  the  army  you  have  taken  counsel  of 
your  ambition,  and  thwarted  him  as  much  as  you 
could,  in  which  you  did  a  great  wrong  to  the  country 
and  to  a  most  meritorious  and  honorable  brother 
officer.  I  have  heard,  in  such  a  way  as  to  believe 
it,  of  your  recently  saying  that  both  the  army  and 
the  government  needed  a  dictator.  Of  course  it 
was  not  for  this,  but  in  spite  of  it,  that*1!  have 
given  you  the  command.  Only  those  generals  who 
gain  successes  can  set  up  dictators.  What  I  now 
ask  of  you  is  military  success,  and  I  will  risk  the 
dictatorship.  The  Government  will  support  you 
to  the  utmost  of  its  ability,  which  is  neither  more 
nor  less  than  it  has  done  and  will  do  for  all  com 
manders.  I  much  fear  that  the  spirit  which  you 
have  aided  to  infuse  into  the  army,  of  criticising 
their  commander  and  withholding  confidence  from 
him,  will  now  turn  upon  you.  I  shall  assist  you 
as  far  as  I  can  to  put  it  down.  Neither  you  nor 
Napoleon,  were  he  alive  again,  could  get  any  good 
out  of  any  army  while  such  a  spirit  prevails  in 
it.  And  now,  beware  of  rashness !  Beware  of 
rashness  !  But  with  energy  and  sleepless  vigilance 
go  forward  and  give  us  victories." 

Hooker  restored  the  discipline  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  which  had  been  greatly  relaxed,  re 
organized  it  in  corps,  and  opened  the  spring  cam 
paign  with  every  promise  of  success.  The  army 
was  still  on  the  Rappahannock,  opposite  Freder- 
icksburg,  and  he  planned  to  cross  over  and  strike 
Lee's  left.  Making  a  demonstration  with  Sedg- 


1863.]  BATTLE    OF    CHANCELLORSVILLE.  243 

wick's  corps  below  the  town,  he  moved  a  large 
part  of  his  army  up  stream,  crossed  quickly,  and 
had  forty-six  thousand  men  at  Chancellorsville  be 
fore  Lee  guessed  what  he  was  about.  This  "  ville  " 
was  only  a  single  house,  named  from  its  owner. 
Eastward,  between  it  and  Fredericksburg,  there 
was  open  country  ;  west  of  it  was  the  great  thicket 
known  as  The  Wilderness,  in  the  depths  of  which, 
a  year  later,  a  bloody  battle  was  fought. 

Instead  of  advancing  into  the  open  country  at 
once,  and  striking  the  enemy's  flank,  Hooker  lost 
a  day  in  inaction,  which  gave  Lee  time  to  learn 
what  was  going  on  and  to  make  dispositions  to 
meet  the  emergency.  Leaving  a  small  force  to 
check  Sedgwick,  who  had  carried  the  heights  of 
Fredericksburg,  he  moved  toward  Hooker  with 
nearly  all  his  army,  May  i,  and  attacked  at 
various  points,  endeavoring  to  ascertain  Hooker's 
exact  position.  By  nightfall  of  this  same  day, 
Hooker  appears  to  have  lost  confidence  in  the 
plans  with  which  he  set  out,  and  been  deserted  by 
his  old-time  audacity  ;  for  instead  of  maintaining 
a  tactical  offensive,  he  drew  back  from  some  of  his 
more  advanced  positions,  formed  his  army  in  a 
semicircle,  and  awaited  attack.  His  left  and  his 
centre  were  strongly  posted  and  to  some  extent 
intrenched  ;  but  his  right,  consisting  of  Howard's 
corps,  was  "  in  the  air,"  and  moreover,  it  faced  the 
Wilderness.  When  this  weak  spot  was  discovered 
by  the  enemy,  on  the  morning  of  the  2d,  Lee  sent 
Jackson  with  twenty-six  thousand  men  to  make  a 
long  detour,  pass  into  the  Wilderness,  and,  emerg- 


244 


BATTLE    OF    CHANCELLORSVILLE. 


[1863. 


ing  suddenly  from  its  eastern  edge,  take  Howard 
by  surprise.  Jackson's  men  were  seen  and  counted 
as  they  passed  over  the  crest  of  a  hill,  they  were 
even  attacked  by  detachments  from  Sickles's 
corps,  and  Hooker  sent  orders  to  Howard  to 
strengthen  his  position,  advance  his  pickets,  and 


not  allow  himself  to  be  surprised.  But  Howard 
appears  to  have  disregarded  all  precautions,  and 
in  the  afternoon  the  enemy  came  down  upon  him, 
preceded  by  a  rush  of  frightened  wild  animals 
driven  from  their  cover  in  the  woods  by  the 
advancing  battle-line.  Howard's  corps  was  doub 
led  up,  thrown  into  confusion,  and  completely 
routed.  The  enemy  was  coming  on  exultingly, 
when  General  Sickles  sent  General  Alfred  Pleason- 
ton  with  two  regiments  of  cavalry  and  a  battery  to 
occupy  an  advantageous  position  at  Hazel  Grove, 
which  was  the  key-point  of  this  part  of  the  battle 
field.  Pleasonton  arrived  just  in  time  to  see 


1863.]  KEENANS    CHARGE.  245 

that  the  Confederates  were  making  toward  the 
same  point  and  were  likely  to  secure  it.  There 
was  but  one  way  to  save  the  army,  and  Pleasonton 
quickly  comprehended  it.  He  ordered  Major 
Peter  Keenan,  with  the  8th  Pennsylvania  cavalry 
regiment,  about  four  hundred  strong,  to  charge  im 
mediately  upon  the  ten  thousand  Confederate 
infantry.  "  It  is  the  same  as  saying  we  must  be 
killed,"  said  Keenan,  "but  we'll  do  it."  This 
charge,  in  which  Keenan  and  most  of  his  command 
were  slain,  astonished  the  enemy  and  stopped  their 
onset,  for  they  believed  there  must  be  some  more 
formidable  force  behind  it.  In  the  precious  min 
utes  thus  gained,  Pleasonton  brought  together 
twenty-two  guns,  loaded  them  with  double  charges 
of  canister,  and  had  them  depressed  enough  to 
make  the  shot  strike  the  ground  half-way  between 
his  own  line  and  the  edge  of  the  woods  where  the 
enemy  must  emerge.  When  the  Confederates 
resumed  their  charge  they  were  struck  by  such  a 
storm  of  iron  as  nothing  human  could  withstand, 
other  troops  were  brought  up  to  the  support  of  the 
guns,  and  what  little  artillery  the  Confederates 
had  advanced  to  the  front  was  knocked  to  pieces. 
Here,  about  dusk,  General  Jackson  rode  to  the 
front  to  reconnoitre.  As  he  rode  back  again  with 
his  staff,  some  of  his  own  men,  mistaking  the 
horsemen  for  National  cavalry,  fired  a  volley  at 
them,  by  which  several  were  killed.  Another 
volley  inflicted  three  wounds  upon  Jackson  ;  and 
as  his  frightened  horse  dashed  into  the  woods,  the 
General  was  thrown  violently  against  the  limb  of  a 


246  BATTLE    OF    CHANCELLORSVILLE.  [1863. 

tree  and  injured  still  more.  Afterward,  when  his 
men  were  bearing  him  off,  a  National  battery 
opened  fire  down  the  road,  one  of  the  men  was 
struck,  and  the  General  fell  heavily  to  the  ground. 
He  finally  reached  the  hospital,  and  "his  arm  was 
amputated,  but  he  died  at  the  end  of  a  week. 
Jackson's  corps  renewed  its  attack,  under  General 
A.  P.  Hill,  but  without  success,  and  Hill  was 
wounded  and  borne  from  the  field. 

The  next  morning,  May  3,  it  was  renewed  again 
under  Stuart,  the  cavalry  leader,  and  at  the  same 
time  Lee  attacked  in  front  with  his  entire  force. 
The  Confederates  had  sustained  a  serious  disaster 
the  evening  before,  in  the  loss  of  Lee's  ablest 
lieutenant ;  but  now  a  more  serious  one  befell  the 
National  army,  for  General  Hooker  was  rendered 
insensible  by  the  shock  from  a  cannon-ball  that 
struck  a  pillar  of  the  Chancellor  house  against 
which  he  was  leaning.  After  this  there  was  no 
plan  or  organization  to  the  battle  on  the  National 
side — though  each  corps  commander  held  his  own 
as  well  as  he  could,  and  the  men  fought  valiantly 
-while  Lee  was  at  his  best.  The  line  was  forced 
back  to  some  strong  intrenchments  that  had  been 
prepared  the  night  before,  when  Lee  learned  that 
Sedgwick  had  defeated  the  force  opposed  to  him, 
captured  Fredericksburg  heights,  and  was  promptly 
advancing  upon  the  Confederate  rear.  Trusting 
that  the  force  in  his  front  would  not  advance  upon 
him,  Lee  drew  off  a  large  detachment  of  his  army 
and  turned  upon  Sedgwick,  who  after  a  heavy 
fight  was  stopped,  and  with  some  difficulty  sue- 


1863.]  THE    NUMBERS    AND    LOSSES.  247 

ceeded  in  crossing  the  river  after  nightfall.  Lee 
then  turned  again  upon  Hooker  ;  but  a  great  storm 
suspended  operations  for  twenty-four  hours,  and 
the  next  night  the  National  army  all  recrossed  the 
Rappahannock,  leaving  on  the  field  fourteen  guns, 
thousands  of  small-arms,  all  their  dead,  and  many 
of  their  wounded.  In  this  battle,  or  series  of 
battles,  the  National  loss  was  about  seventeen 
thousand  men,  the  Confederate  about  thirteen 
thousand.  Hooker  had  commanded  about  one 
hundred  and  thirteen  thousand  five  hundred,  to 
Lee's  sixty-two  thousand  (disregarding  the  differ 
ent  methods  of  counting  in  the  two  armies)  ;  but 
as  usual  they  were  not  in  action  simultaneously  ; 
many  were  hardly  in  the  fight  at  all,  and  at  every 
point  of  actual  contact,  with  the  exception  of 
Sedgwick's  first  engagement,  the  Confederates 
were  superior  in  numbers. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

GETTYSBURG. 

AFTER  the  battles  of  Fredericksburg  and  Chancel- 
lorsville,  public  opinion  in  the  South  began  to  de 
mand  that  the  army  under  Lee  should  invade  the 
North,  or  at  least  make  a  bold  movement  toward 
Washington.  Public  opinion  is  not  often  very  dis 
criminating  in  an  exciting  crisis  ;  and  on  this  occa 
sion  public  opinion  failed  to  discriminate  between 
the  comparative  ease  with  which  an  army  in  a 
strong  position  may  repel  a  faultily  planned  or  bad 
ly  managed  attack,  and  the  difficulties  that  must 
beset  the  same  army  when  it  leaves  its  base, 
launches  forth  into  the  enemy's  country,  and  is 
obliged  to  maintain  a  constantly  lengthening  line 
of  communication.  The  Southern  public  could  not 
see  why,  since  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  had 
won  two  victories  on  the  Rappahannock,  it  might 
not  march  forward  at  once,  lay  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  under  contribution,  and  dictate  peace 
and  Southern  independence  in  the  Capitol  at 
Washington.  Whether  the  Confederate  Govern 
ment  shared  this  feeling  or  not,  it  acted  in  accord 
ance  with  it ;  and  whether  Lee  approved  it  or  not, 
he  was  obliged  to  obey.  Yet,  in  the  largest  con 
sideration  of  the  problem,  this  demand  for  an  in- 


1863.]  THE   TURNING-POINT   OF   THE   WAR.  249 

vasion  of  the  North  was  correct,  though  the  result 
proved  disastrous.  For  experience  shows  that 
purely  defensive  warfare  will  not  accomplish  any 
thing.  Lee's  army  had  received  a  heavy  ree'n- 
forcement  by  the  arrival  of  Longstreet's  corps,  its 
regiments  had  been  filled  up  with  conscripts,  it  had 
unbounded  confidence  in  itself,  and  this  was  the 
time,  if  ever,  to  put  the  plan  for  independence  to 
the  crucial  test  of  offensive  warfare.  Many  subsid 
iary  considerations  strengthened  the  argument. 
About  thirty  thousand  of  Hooker's  men  had  been 
enlisted  in  the  spring  of  1861,  for  two  years,  and  their 
term  was  now  expiring.  Vicksburg  was  besieged  by 
Grant,  before  whom  nothing  had  stood  as  yet ;  and 
its  fall  would  open  the  Mississippi  and  cut  the  Con 
federacy  in  two,  which  might  seal  the  fate  of  the 
new  Government  unless  the  shock  were  neutral 
ized  by  a  great  victory  in  the  East.  Volunteering 
had  fallen  off  in  the  North,  conscription  was  re 
sorted  to,  the  Democratic  party  there  had  become 
more  hostile  to  the  Government  and  loudly  abusive 
of  President  Lincoln  and  his  advisers,  and  there 
were  signs  of  riotous  resistance  to  a  draft.  Final 
ly,  the  Confederate  agents  in  Europe  reported  that 
anything  like  a  great  Confederate  victory  would 
secure  immediate  recognition,  if  not  armed  inter 
vention,  from  England  and  France. 

Hooker,  who  had  lost  a  golden  opportunity  by  his 
aberration  or  his  accident  at  Chancellorsville,  had 
come  to  his  senses  again  and  was  alert,  active,  and 
clear-headed.  As  early  as  May  28,  1863,  he  in 
formed  the  President  that  something  was  stirring 


250  LEE    MOVES    NORTHWARD.  [1863. 

in  the  camp  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  that 
a  northward  movement  might  be  expected.  On 
the  3d  of  June  Lee  began  his  movement,  and  by  the 
8th  two  of  his  three  corps  (those  of  Ewell  and 
Longstreet)  were  at  Culpeper,  while  A.  P.  Hill's 
corps  still  held  the  lines  on  the  Rappahannock. 

It  was  known  that  the  entire  Confederate  cav 
alry,  under  Stuart,  was  at  Culpeper,  and  Hooker 
sent  all  his  cavalry,  under  Pleasonton,  with  two 
brigades  of  infantry,  to  attack  it  there.  The  as 
sault  was  to  be  made  in  two  converging  columns, 
under  Buford  and  Gregg ;  but  this  plan  was  dis 
concerted  by  the  fact  that  the  enemy's  cavalry,  in 
tent  upon  masking  the  movement  of  the  great  body 
of  infantry  and  protecting  its  flank,  had  advanced 
to  Brandy  Station.  Here  it  was  struck  first  by 
Buford  and  afterward  by  Gregg,  and  there  was 
bloody  fighting,  with  the  advantage  at  first  in  favor 
of  the  National  troops,  but  the  two  columns  failed 
to  unite  during  the  action,  and  finally  withdrew. 
The  loss  was  over  five  hundred  men  on  each  side, 
including  among  the  killed  Colonel  B.  F.  Davis, 
of  the  8th  New  York  cavalry,  and  Colonel  Hamp 
ton,  commanding  a  Confederate  brigade.  Both 
sides  claimed  to  have  accomplished  their  object  — 
Pleasonton  to  have  ascertained  the  movements  of 
Lee's  army,  and  Stuart  to  have  driven  back  his 
opponent.  Some  of  the  heaviest  fighting  was  for 
possession  of  a  height  known  as  Fleetwood  Hill, 
and  the  Confederates  name  the  action  the  battle  of 
Fleetwood.  It  is  of  special  interest  as  marking  the 
turning-point  in  cavalry  service  during  the  war. 


1863.]  HOOKER    FOLLOWS.  251 

Up  to  that  time  the  Confederate  cavalry  had  been 
generally  superior  to  the  National ;  this  action  - 
a  cavalry  fight  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term,  be 
tween  the  entire  mounted  forces  of  the  two  armies 
— was  a  drawn  battle  ;  and  thenceforth  the  National 
cavalry  exhibited  superiority  in  an  accelerating 
ratio,  till  finally  nothing  mounted  on  Southern 
horses  could  stand  before  the  magnificent  squadrons 
led  by  Sheridan,  Custer,  Kilpatrick,  and  Wilson. 

Hooker  now  knew  that  the  movement  he  had 
anticipated  was  in  progress,  and  he  was  very  de 
cided  in  his  opinion  as  to  what  should  be  done. 
By  the  I3th  of  June,  Lee  had  advanced  E  well's 
corps  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  it  was  marching 
down  the  Shenandoah  valley,  while  Hill's  was  still 
in  the  intrenchments  on  the  Rapidan,  and  Long- 
street's  was  midway  between,  at  Culpeper.  Hooker 
asked  to  be  allowed  to  interpose  his  whole  army  be 
tween  these  widely  separated  parts  of  its  antago 
nist  and  defeat  them  in  detail ;  but  with  a  man 
like  Halleck  for  military  adviser  at  Washington,  it 
was  useless  to  propose  any  bold  or  brilliant  stroke. 
Hooker  was  forbidden  to  do  this,  and  ordered  to 
keep  his  army  between  the  enemy  and  the  capital. 
He  therefore  left  his  position  on  the  Rappahan- 
nock,  and  moved  toward  Washington,  along  the 
line  of  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad.  Ewell 
moved  rapidly  down  the  Shenandoah  valley,  and 
attacked  Winchester,  which  was  held  by  General 
Milroy  with  about  ten  thousand  men.  Milroy 
made  a  gallant  defence  ;  but  after  a  stubborn  fight 
his  force  was  broken  and  defeated,  and  about  four 


252  THE    ARMIES    CROSS    THE    POTOMAC.  [1868. 

thousand  of  them  became  prisoners.    The  survivors 
escaped  to  Harper's  Ferry. 

The  corps  of  Hill  and  Longstreet  now  moved, 
Hill  following  Ewell  into  the  Shenandoah  valley, 
and  Longstreet  skirting  the  Blue  Ridge  along  its 
eastern  base.  Pleasonton's  cavalry,  reconnoitering 
these  movements,  met  Stuart's  again  at  Aldie,  near 
a  gap  in  the  Bull  Run  Mountains,  and  had  a  sharp 
fight ;  and  there  were  also  cavalry  actions  at  Mid- 
dleburg  and  Upperville.  Other  Confederate  cav 
alry  had  already  crossed  the  Potomac,  made  a  raid 
as  far  as  Chambersburg,  and  returned  with  supplies 
to  Ewell.  On  the  22d,  Swell's  corps  crossed,  at 
Shepherdstown  and  Williamsport,  and  moved  up 
the  Cumberland  valley  to  Chambersburg.  A  panic 
ensued  among  the  inhabitants  of  that  region,  who 
hastened  to  drive  off  their  cattle  and  horses,  to 
save  them  from  seizure.  The  Governors  of  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania  were  called  upon  for  militia, 
and  forwarded  several  regiments,  to  be  interposed 
between  the  enemy's  advance  and  Philadelphia 
and  Harrisburg.  The  other  two  corps  of  Lee's 
army  crossed  the  Potomac  on  the  24th  and  25th, 
where  Ewell  had  crossed  ;  and  Hooker,  moving 
on  a  line  nearer  Washington  crossed  with  his 
whole  army  at  Edward's  Ferry,  on  the  25th  and 
26th,  marching  thence  to  Frederick.  He  now 
proposed  to  send  Slocum's  corps  to  the  western 
side  of  the  South  Mountain  range,  have  it  unite 
with  a  force  of  eleven  thousand  men  under  French, 
that  lay  useless  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  throw  a 
powerful  column  upon  Lee's  communications,  cap- 


1863.]  MEADE    IN    COMMAND.  253 

ture  his  trains,  and  attack  his  army  in  the  rear. 
But  again  he  came  into  collision  with  the  stubborn 
Halleck,  who  would  not  consent  to  the  abandon 
ment,  even  temporarily,  of  Harper's  Ferry,  though 
the  experience  of  the  Antietam  campaign,  when 
he  attempted  to  hold  it  in  the  same  way  and  lost 
its  whole  garrison,  should  have  taught  him  better. 
This  new  cause  of  trouble,  added  to  previous  disa 
greements,  was  more  than  Hooker  could  stand, 
and  on  the  27th  he  asked  to  be  relieved  from  com 
mand  of  the  army.  His  request  was  promptly 
complied  with,  and  the  next  morning  the  command 
was  given  to  General  Meade,  only  five  days  before 
a  great  battle. 

George  Gordon  Meade,  then  in  his  forty-ninth 
year,  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  had  served 
through  the  Mexican  war,  had  done  engineer  duty 
in  the  survey  of  the  great  lakes,  had  been  with 
McClellan  on  the  peninsula,  and  had  commanded 
a  corps  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  at  Antietam,  at 
Fredericksburg,  and  at  Chancellorsville.  The  first 
thing  he  did  on  assuming  command  was  what 
Hooker  had  been  forbidden  to  do  ;  he  ordered  the 
evacuation  of  Harper's  Ferry,  and  the  movement 
of  its  garrison  to  Frederick  as  a  reserve. 

At  this  time,  June  28,  one  portion  of  Lee's 
army  was  at  Chambersburg,  or  between  that  place 
and  Gettysburg,  another  at  York  and  Carlisle,  and 
a  part  of  his  cavalry  was  within  sight  of  the  spires 
of  Harrisburg.  The  main  body  of  the  cavalry 
had  gone  off  on  a  raid,  Stuart  having  an  ambition 
to  ride  a  third  time  around  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 


254  CONCENTRATION    AT    GETTYSBURG  [1863. 

mac.  This  absence  of  his  cavalry  left  Lee  in  ig 
norance  of  the  movements  of  his  adversary,  whom 
he  appears  to  have  expected  to  remain  quietly  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Potomac.  When  suddenly 
he  found  his  communications  in  clanger,  he  called 
back  Ewell  from  York  and  Carlisle,  and  ordered 
the  concentration  of  all  his  forces  at  Gettysburg. 
Many  converging  roads  lead  into  that  town,  and 
its  convenience  for  such  concentration  was  obvi 
ous.  Meade  was  also  advancing  his  army  toward 
Gettysburg,  though  with  a  more  uncertain  step  — 
as  was  necessary,  since  his  object  was  to  find 
Lee's  army  and  fight  it,  wherever  it  might  go. 
His  cavalry,  under  Pleasonton,  was  doing  good 
service,  and  that  General  advanced  a  division  un 
der  Buford  on  the  2Qth  to  Gettysburg,  with  orders 
to  delay  the  enemy  till  the  army  could  come  up. 
Meade  had  some  expectation  of  bringing  on 
the  great  battle  at  Pipe  Creek,  southeast  of  Get 
tysburg,  where  he  marked  out  a  good  defensive 
line  ;  but  the  First  Corps,  under  General  John  F. 
Reynolds,  advanced  rapidly  to  Gettysburg,  and  on 
the  ist  of  July  encountered  west  of  the  town  a 
portion  of  the  enemy  coming  in  from  Chambers- 
burg.  Lee  had  about  seventy-three  thousand  five 
hundred  men  (infantry  and  artillery),  and  Meade 
about  eighty-two  thousand,  while  the  cavalry  num 
bered  about  eleven  thousand  on  each  side,  and 
both  armies  had  more  cannon  than  they  could  use.* 

*  Various  figures  and  estimates  are  given  as  representing  the 
strength  of  the  two  armies,  some  of  which  take  account  of  detach 
ments  absent  on  special  duty,  and  some  do  not.  The  figures  here 
given  denote  very  nearly  the  forces  actually  available  for  the  battle. 


1863.] 


GETTYSBURG   BATTLE-FIELD. 


255 


256  THE    FIRST    DAY'S    BATTLE.  [1863. 

When  Reynolds  advanced  his  own  corps  (the 
First)  and  determined  to  hold  Gettysburg,  he 
ordered  the  Eleventh  (Howard's)  to  come  up  to 
its  support.  The  country  about  Gettysburg  is 
broken  into  ridges,  mainly  parallel  and  running 
north  and  south.  On  the  first  ridge  west  of  the 
village  stood  a  theological  seminary,  which  gave 
it  the  name  of  Seminary  Ridge.  Between  this 
and  the  next  is  a  small  stream  called  Willoughby 
Run,  and  here  the  first  day's  battle  was  fought. 
Buford  held  the  ridges  till  the  infantry  arrived, 
climbing  into  the  belfry  of  the  seminary  and  look 
ing  anxiously  for  their  coming.  The  Confeder 
ates  were  advancing  by  two  roads  that  met  in  a 
point  at  the  edge  of  the  village,  and  Reynolds  dis 
posed  his  troops,  as  fast  as  they  arrived,  so  as  to 
dispute  the  passage  on  both  roads.  The  key-point 
was  a  piece  of  high  ground,  partly  covered  with 
woods,  between  the  roads,  and  the  advance  of 
both  sides  rushed  for  it.  Here  General  Reynolds, 
going  forward  to  survey  the  ground,  was  shot  by 
a  sharpshooter  and  fell  dead.  He  was  one  of  the 
ablest  corps  commanders  that  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  ever  had.  The  command  devolved  upon 
General  Abner  Doubleday,  who  was  an  experi 
enced  soldier,  having  served  through  the  Mexican 
war,  been  second  in  command  under  Anderson  at 
Fort  Sumter,  and  seen  almost  constant  service 
with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  Confeder 
ate  force  contending  for  the  woods  was  Archer's 
brigade  ;  the  National  was  Meredith's  "  Iron  Brig 
ade."  Archer's  men  had  been  told  that  they 


1863.]  THE    FIRST    DAYS    BATTLE.  257 

would  meet  nothing  but  Pennsylvania  militia, 
which  they  expected  to  brush  out  of  the  way  with 
little  trouble  ;  but  when  they  saw  the  Iron  Brig 
ade  some  of  them  were  heard  saying  :  "  'Taint 
no  militia;  there  are  the-  -black-hatted  fellows 
again  ;  it's  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  ! "  The 
result  here  was  that  Meredith's  men  not  only 
secured  the  woods,  but  captured  General  Archer 
and  a  large  part  of  his  brigade,  and  then  advanced 
to  the  ridge  west  of  the  run. 

On  the  right  of  the  line  there  had  been  bloody 
fighting,  with  unsatisfactory  results,  owing  to  the 
careless  posting  of  regiments  and  a  want  of  con 
cert  in  action.  Two  National  regiments  were 
driven  from  the  field  and  a  gun  was  lost,  while  on 
the  other  hand  a  Confederate  force  was  driven 
into  a  railroad  cut  for  shelter,  and  then  subjected 
to  an  enfilading  fire  through  the  cut,  so  that  a  large 
portion  were  captured  and  the  remainder  dispersed. 

Whether  any  commander  on  either  side  intended 
to  bring  on  a  battle  at  this  point,  is  doubtful.  But 
both  sides  were  rapidly  and  heavily  reenforced,  and' 
both  fought  with  determination.  The  struggle  for 
the  Chambersburg  road  was  obstinate,  especially 
after  the  Confederates  had  planted  several  guns 
to  sweep  it.  "  We  have  come  to  stay,"  said  Roy 
Stone's  brigade,  as  they  came  into  line  under  the 
fire  of  these  guns  to  support  a  battery  of  their 
own,  and  "  the  battle  afterward  became  so  severe 
that  the  greater  portion  did  stay,"  says  General 
Doubleday.  A  division  of  Ewell's  corps  soon 
arrived  from  Carlisle,  wheeled  into  position,  and 


258  THE    FIRST    DAY'S    BATTLE. 

struck  the  right  of  the  National  line.  Robinson's 
division,  resting  on  Seminary  Ridge,  was  promptly 
brought  forward  to  meet  this  new  peril,  and  was 
so  skilfully  handled  that  it  presently  captured  three 
North  Carolina  regiments. 

General  Oliver  O.  Howard,  being  the  ranking 
officer,  assumed  command  when  he  arrived  on  this 
part  of  the  field  ;  and  when  his  own  corps  (the 
Eleventh)  came  up,  about  one  o'clock,  he  placed  it 
in  position  on  the  right,  prolonging  the  line  of 
battle  far  around  to  the  north  of  the  town.  This 
great  extension  made  it  weak  at  many  points  ;  and 
as  fresh  divisions  of  Confederate  troops  were 
constantly  arriving,  under  Lee's  general  order  to 
concentrate  on  the  town,  they  finally  became 
powerful  enough  to  break  through  the  centre, 
rolling  back  the  right  flank  of  the  First  corps  and 
the  left  of  the  Eleventh,  and  throwing  into  con 
fusion  everything  except  the  left  of  the  First  corps, 
which  retired  in  good  order,  protecting  artillery 
and  ambulances.  Of  the  fugitives  that  swarmed 
through  the  town,  about  five  thousand  were  made 
prisoners.  But  this  had  been  effected  only  at 
heavy  cost  to  the  Confederates.  At  one  point 
Iverson's  Georgia  brigade  had  rushed  up  to  a  stone 
fence  behind  which  Baxter's  brigade  was  sheltered, 
when  Baxter's  men  suddenly  rose  and  delivered  a 
volley  that  struck  down  five  hundred  of  Iverson's 
in  an  instant,  while  the  remainder,  who  were  sub 
jected  also  to  a  cross-fire,  immediately  surrendered 
—all  but  one  regiment,  which  escaped  by  raising 
a  white  flag. 


18G3.J  HANCOCK    CHOOSES    THE   GROUND.  259 

In  the  midst  of  the  confusion,  General  Winfield 
S.  Hancock  arrived,  under  orders  from  General 
Meade  to  supersede  Howard  in  the  command  of 
that  wing  of  the  army.  He  had  been  instructed 
also  to  choose  a  position  for  the  army  to  meet  the 
great  shock  of  battle,  if  he  should  find  a  better  one 
than  the  line  of  Pipe  Creek.  Hancock's  first  duty 
was  to  rally  the  fugitives  and  restore  order  and 
confidence.  Steinwehr's  division  was  in  reserve  on 
Cemetery  Ridge,  and  Buford's  cavalry  was  on  the 
plain  between  the  town  and  the  ridge  ;  and  with 
these  standing  fast  he  stopped  the  retreat  and 
rapidly  formed  aline  along  that  crest. 

The  ridge  begins  in  Round  Top,  a  high,  rocky 
hill  ;  next  north  of  this  is  Little  Round  Top, 
smaller  but  still  bold  and  rugged  ;  and  thence  it  is 
continued  at  a  less  elevation,  with  gentler  slopes, 
northward  to  within  half  a  mile  of  the  town,  where 
it  curves  around  to  the  east  and  ends  at  Rock 
Creek.  The  whole  length  is  about  three  miles. 
Seminary  Ridge  is  a  mile  west  of  this,  and  nearly 
parallel  with  its  central  portion.  Hancock  without 
hesitation  chose  this  line,  placed  all  the  available 
troops  in  position,  and  then  hurried  back  to  head 
quarters  at  Taneytown.  Meade  at  once  accepted 
his  plan,  and  sent  forward  the  remaining  corps. 
The  Third  Corps,  commanded  by  General  Sickles, 
being  already  on  the  march,  arrived  at  sunset. 
The  Second  (Hancock's)  marched  thirteen  miles 
and  went  into  position.  The  Fifth  (Sykes's)  was 
twenty-three  miles  away,  but  marched  all  night 
and  arrived  in  the  morning.  The  Sixth  (Sedg- 


260  THE    SECOND    DAY'S    BATTLE.  [1863. 

wick's)  was  thirty-six  miles  away,  but  was  put  in 
motion  at  once.  At  the  same  time  Lee  was  urging 
the  various  divisions  of  his  army  to  make  the 
concentration  as  rapidly  as  possible,  not  wishing  to 
attack  the  heights  till  his  forces  were  all  up. 

It  is  said  by  General  Longstreet  that  Lee  had 
promised  his  corps  commanders  not  to  fight  a  bat 
tle  during  this  expedition,  unless  he  could  take  a 
position  and  stand  on  the  defensive  ;  but  the 
excitement  and  confidence  of  his  soldiers,  who  felt 
themselves  invincible,  compelled  him.  While  he 
was  waiting  for  his  divisions  to  arrive,  forming  his 
lines  and  perfecting  a  plan  of  attack,  Sedgwick's 
corps  arrived  on  the  other  side,  and  the  National 
troops  were  busy  constructing  rude  breastworks. 

Between  the  two  great  ridges  there  is  another 
ridge,  situated  somewhat  like  the  diagonal  portion 
of  a  capital  N.  The  order  of  the  corps,  begin 
ning  at  the  right,  was  this  :  Slocum's,  Howard's, 
Hancock's,  Sickles's,  with  Sykes's  in  reserve  on  the 
left  and  Sedgwick's  on  the  right.  Sickles,  think 
ing  to  occupy  more  advantageous  ground,  instead 
of  remaining  in  line,  advanced  to  the  diagonal 
ridofe,  and  on  this  hino-ed  the  whole  battle  of  the 

O       '  O 

second  day.  For  there  was  nothing  on  which  to 
rest  his  left  flank,  and  he  was  obliged  to  "  refuse" 
it  —  turn  it  sharply  back  toward  Round  Top.  This 
presented  a  salient  angle  (always  a  weak  point) 
to  the  enemy  ;  and  here,  when  the  action  opened 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  blow  fell. 
The  angle  was  at  a  peach-orchard,  and  the  refused 
line  stretched  back  through  a  wheat  field  ;  General 


1863.]  THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    ROUND    TOP.  26 1 

Birney's  division  occupying  this  ground,  while  the 
right  of  Sickles's  line  was  held  by  Humphreys. 

Longstreet's  men  attacked  the  salient  vigor 
ously,  and  his  extreme  right,  composed  of  Hood's 
division,  stretched  out  toward  Little  Round  Top, 
where  it  narrowly  missed  winning  a  position  that 
would  have  enabled  it  to  enfilade  the  whole 
National  line.  Little  Round  Top  had  been  occu 
pied  only  by  signal  men,  when  General  Warren 
saw  the  danger,  detached  Vincent's  brigade  from 
a  division  that  was  going  out  to  reenforce  Sickles, 
and  ordered  it  to  occupy  the  hill  at  once.  One 
regiment  of  Weed's  brigade  (the  i4oth  New  York) 
also  went  up,  dragging  and  lifting  the  guns  of 
Hazlett's  battery  up  the  rocky  slope  ;  and  the 
whole  brigade  soon  followed.  They  were  just  in 
time  to  meet  the  advance  of  Hood's  Texans,  and 
engage  in  one  of  the  bloodiest  hand-to-hand  con 
flicts  of  the  war.  Bayonets,  clubbed  muskets, 
and  even  stones  were  used,  officers  and  all  joining 
in  the  melee,  and  at  length  the  Texans  were 
hurled  back  and  the  position  secured.  But  dead 
or  wounded  soldiers,  in  blue  and  in  gray,  lay 
everywhere  among  the  rocks.  General  Weed  was 
mortally  wounded  ;  General  Vincent  was  killed  ; 
Colonel  Patrick  H.  O'Rorke,  of  the  i4Oth,  a  recent 
graduate  of  West  Point,  of  brilliant  promise,  was 
shot  dead  at  the  head  of  his  men  ;  and  Lieutenant 
Charles  E.  Hazlett  was  killed  as  he  leaned  over 
General  Weed  to  catch  his  last  words.  "  I  would 
rather  die  here,"  said  Weed,  "  than  that  the  rebels 
should  gain  an  inch  of  this  ground  !  "  Hood's  men 


262  THE    FIGHT    AT    THE    SALIENT.  [1863. 

made  one  more  attempt,  by  creeping  up  the  ravine 
between  the  two  Round  Tops,  but  were  repelled 
by  a  bayonet  charge,  executed  by  Chamberlain's 
2Oth  Maine  regiment,  and  five  hundred  of  them, 
with  seventeen  officers,  were  made  prisoners. 

Meanwhile  terrific  fighting  was  going  on  at  the 
salient  in  the  peach-orchard.  Several  batteries 
were  in  play  on  both  sides,  and  made  destructive 
work ;  a  single  shell  from  one  of  the  National 
guns  killed  or  wounded  thirty  men  in  a  company 
of  thirty-seven.  Here  General  Zook  was  killed, 
Colonel  Cross  was  killed,  General  Sickles  lost  a 
leg,  and  the  Confederate  General  Barksdale  was 
mortally  wounded  and  died  a  prisoner.  There 
were  repeated  charges  and  counter-charges,  and 
numerous  bloody  incidents  ;  for  Sickles  was  con 
stantly  reenforced,  and  Lee,  being  under  the 
impression  that  this  was  the  flank  of  the  main  line, 
kept  hammering  at  it  till  his  men  finally  possessed 
the  peach-orchard,  advanced  their  lines,  assailed  the 
left  flank  of  Humphreys,  and  finally  drove  back  the 
National  line,  only  to  find  that  they  had  forced  it 
into  its  true  position,  from  which  they  could  not 
dislodge  it  by  any  direct  attack,  while  the  guns  and 
troops  that  now  crowned  the  two  Round  Tops 
showed  any  flank  movement  to  be  impossible. 
About  sunset  Ewell's  corps  assailed  the  Union 
right,  and  at  heavy  cost  gained  a  portion  of  the 
works  near  Rock  Creek. 

One  of  the  most  dramatic  incidents  of  this  day 
was  a  charge  on  Cemetery  Hill  by  two  Confeder 
ate  brigades  led  by  an  organization  known  as  the 


1863.]  A    COUNCIL    OF    WAR.  263 

Louisiana  Tigers.  It  was  made  just  at  dusk,  and 
the  charging  column  immediately  became  a  target 
for  the  batteries  of  Wiedrick,  Stevens,  and  Rick- 
etts,  which  fired  grape  and  canister,  each  gun 
making  four  discharges  a  minute.  But  the  Tigers 
had  the  reputation  of  never  having  failed  in  a 
charge,  and  in  spite  of  the  frightful  gaps  made  by 
the  artillery  and  by  volleys  of  musketry,  they  kept 
on  till  they  reached  the  guns  and  made  a  hand-to- 
hand  fight  for  them.  Friend  and  foe  were  fast 
becoming  mingled  when  Carroll's  brigade  came  to 
the  rescue  of  the  guns,  and  the  remnants  of  the 
Confederate  column  fled  down  the  hill  in  the 
gathering  darkness,  hastened  by  a  double-shotted 
fire  from  Ricketts's  battery.  Of  the  seventeen 
hundred  Tigers,  twelve  hundred  had  been  struck 
down,  and  that  famous  organization  was  never 
heard  of  again. 

While  the  actions  of  the  first  two  days  were 
complicated,  that  of  the  third  was  extremely 
simple.  Lee  had  tried  both  flanks,  and  failed. 
He  now  determined  to  attempt  piercing  the  centre 
of  Meade's  line.  Longstreet,  wiser  than  his  chief, 
protested,  but  in  vain.  On  the  other  hand,  Meade 
had  held  a  council  of  war  the  night  before,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  vote  of  his  corps  commanders 
determined  to  stay  where  he  was  and  fight  it  out.* 

*  Whether  General  Meade  contemplated  a  retreat,  has  been  dis 
puted.  On  the  one  hand,  he  testified  before  the  Committee  on 
the  Conduct  of  the  War  that  he  never  thought  of  such  a  thing ;  on 
the  other,  General  Doubleday,  in  his  "  Chancellorsville  and  Gettys 
burg,"  presents  testimony  that  seems  to  leave  no  reasonable  doubt. 
There  is  nothing  intrinsically  improbable  in  the  story.  Meade's  ser- 


264  THE    THIRD    DAY'S    BATTLE.  [1863. 

Lee's  first  intended  movement  was  to  push  the 
success  gained  at  the  close  of  the  second  day  by 
Ewell  on  the  National  right ;  but  Meade  antic 
ipated  him,  attacking  early  in  the  morning  and 
driving  Ewell  out  of  his  works.  In  preparation 
for  a  grand  charge,  Lee  placed  more  than  one  hun 
dred  guns  in  position  on  Seminary  Ridge,  converg 
ing  their  fire  on  the  left  centre  of  Meade's  line,  where 
he  intended  to  send  his  storming  column.  Eighty 
guns  (all  there  was  room  for)  were  placed  in  posi 
tion  on  Cemetery  Ridge  to  reply,  and  at  one  o'clock 
the  firing  began.  This  was  one  of  the  most  terrific 
artillery  duels  ever  witnessed.  There  was  a  con 
tinuous  and  deafening  roar,  which  was  heard  forty 
miles  away.  The  shot  and  shells  ploughed  up  the 
ground,  shattered  gravestones  in  the  cemetery  and 
sent  their  fragments  flying  among  the  troops,  ex 
ploded  caissons,  and  dismounted  guns.  A  house 
used  for  Meade's  headquarters,  in  the  rear  of  the 
line,  was  completely  riddled.  Many  artillerists 

vice'  in  that  war  had  all  been  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  it 
was  the  custom  of  that  army  to  retreat  after  a  great  battle.  The 
only  exception  thus  far  had  been  Antietam  ;  and  two  great  battles, 
with  the  usual  retreat,  had  been  fought  since  Antietam.  Meade  had 
been  in  command  of  the  entire  army  but  a  few  days,  and  he  cannot 
be  said  to  have  been  the  master-spirit  at  Gettysburg.  It  was  Rey 
nolds  who  went  out  to  meet  the  enemy,  and  stayed  his  advance  on  the 
first  day ;  it  was  Hancock  who  selected  the  advantageous  position  for 
the  second  day ;  it  was  Warren  who  secured  the  neglected  key-point. 
The  fact  of  calling  a  council  of  war  at  all,  implies  doubt  in  the  mind 
of  the  commander.  But  after  all  the  question  is  hardly  important,  so 
far  at  least  as  it  concerns  Meade's  place  in  history.  He  is  likely  to  be 
less  blamed  for  contemplating  retreat  at  the  end  of  two  days'  fighting, 
when  he  had  the  worst  of  it,  than  for  not  contemplating  pursuit  at 
the  end  of  the  third  day,  when  the  enemy  was  defeated. 


1863.]  THE    FINAL    CHARGE.  265 

and  horses  were  killed  ;  but  the  casualties  among 
the  infantry  were  not  numerous,  for  the  men 
lay  flat  upon  the  ground,  taking  advantage  of 
every  shelter,  and  waited  for  the  more  serious 
work  that  all  knew  was  to  follow.  At  the  end  of 
two  hours  General  Henry. J.  Hunt,  Meade's  chief 
of  artillery,  ordered  the  firing  to  cease,  both  to 
cool  the  guns  and  to  save  the  ammunition  for  use 
in  repelling  the  infantry  charge.  Lee  supposed 
that  his  object  —  which  was  to  demoralize  his 
enemy  and  cause  him  to  exhaust  his  artillery  —  had 
been  effected.  Fourteen  thousand  of  his  best 
troops —  including  Pickett's  division,  which  had  not 
arrived  in  time  for  the  previous  day's  fighting  — 
now  came  out  of  the  woods,  formed  in  heavy  col 
umns,  and  moved  forward  steadily  to  the  charge. 
Instantly  the  National  guns  reopened  fire,  and  the 
Confederate  ranks  were  ploughed  through  and 
through  ;  but  the  gaps  were  closed  up,  and  the 
columns  did  not  halt.  There  was  a  mile  of  open 
ground  for  them  to  traverse,  and  every  step  was 
taken  under  heavy  fire.  As  they  drew  nearer,  the 
batteries  used  grape  and  canister,  and  an  infantry 
force  posted  in  advance  of  the  main  line  rose  to 
its  feet  and  fired  volleys  of  musketry  into  the  right 
flank.  Now  the  columns  began  visibly  to  break 
up  and  melt  away  ;  and  the  left  wing  of  the  force 
changed  its  direction  somewhat,  so  that  it  parted 
from  the  right,  making  an  interval  and  exposing  a 
new  flank,  which  the  National  'troops  promptly 
took  advantage  of.  But  Pickett's  diminishing 
ranks  still  pushed  on,  till  they  passed  over  the 


266  PICKETT'S  REPULSE.  tises. 

outer  lines,  fought  hand-to-hand  at  the  main  line, 
and  even  leaped  the  breastworks  and  thought  to 
capture  the  batteries.  The  point  where  they 
penetrated  was  marked  by  a  clump  of  small  trees 
on  the  edge  of  the  hill,  at  that  portion  of  the  line 
held  by  the  brigade  of  General  Alexander  S. 
Webb,  who  was  wounded  ;  but  his  men  stood  firm 
against  the  shock,  and,  from  the  eagerness  of  all  to 
join  in  the  contest,  men  rushed  from  every  side  to 
the  point  assailed,  mixing  up  all  commands,  but 
making  a  front  that  no  such  remnant  as  Pickett's 

o 

could  break.  General  Lewis  A.  Armistead,  who 
led  the  charge  and  leaped  over  the  wall,  was  shot 
down  as  he  laid  his  hand  on  a  gun,  and  his  sur 
viving  soldiers  surrendered  themselves.  On  the 
slope  of  the  hill  many  of  the  assailants  had  thrown 
themselves  upon  the  ground  and  held  up  their 
hands  for  quarter  ;  and  an  immediate  sally  from  the 
National  lines  brought  in  a  large  number  of  pris 
oners  and  battle-flags.  Of  that  magnificent  column 
which  had  been  launched  out  so  proudly,  only  a 
broken  fragment  ever  returned.  Nearly  every 
officer  in  it,  except  Pickett,  had  been  either  killed 
or  wounded.  Armistead,  a  prisoner  and  dying, 
said  to  an  officer  who  was  bending  over  him,  "  Tell 
Hancock  I  have  wronged  him  and  have  wronged 
my  country."  He  had  been  opposed  to  secession, 
but  the  pressure  of  his  friends  and  relatives  had 
at  length  forced  him  into  the  service.  Hancock 
had  been  wounded  and  borne  from  the  field,  and 
among  the  other  wounded  on  the  National  side 
were  Generals  Doubleday,  Gibbon,  Warren,  But- 


1863.]  LEE'S    RETREAT.  267 

terfield,  Stannard,  Barnes,  and  Brook.  General 
Farnsworth  was  killed,  and  General  Gabriel  R. 
Paul  lost  both  eyes.  Among  the  killed  on  the 
Confederate  side,  beside  those  already  mentioned, 
were  Generals  Garnett,  Fender,  and  Semmes ;  and 
among  the  wounded  Generals  Hampton,  Jenkins, 
Kemper,  Scales,  J.  M.  Jones,  and  G.  T.  Anderson. 

While  this  movement  was  in  progress,  Kilpat- 
rick  with  his  cavalry  rode  around  the  mountain 
and  attempted  to  pass  the  Confederate  right  and 
capture  the  trains,  while  Stuart  with  his  cavalry 
made  a  simultaneous  attempt  on  the  National 
right.  Each  had  a  bloody  fight,  but  neither  was 
successful.  This  closed  the  battle.  Hancock 
urged  that  a  great  return  charge  should  be  made 
immediately  with  Sedgwick's  corps,  which  had  not 
participated,  and  Lee  expected  such  a  movement 
as  a  matter  of  course.  But  it  was  not  done. 

That  night  Lee  made  preparations  for  retreat, 
and  the  next  day  —  which  was  the  4th  of  July  —  the 
retreat  was  begun.  General  Imboden,  who  con 
ducted  the  trains  and  the  ambulances,  describes  it 
as  one  of  the  most  pitiful  and  heartrending  scenes 
ever  witnessed.  A  heavy  storm  had  come  up,  the 
roads  were  in  bad  condition,  few  of  the  wounded 
had  been  properly  cared  for,  and  as  they  were 
jolted  along  in  agony  they  were  groaning,  curs 
ing,  babbling  of  theirhomes,  and  calling  upon  their 
friends  to  kill  them  and  put  them  out  of  misery. 
But  there  could  be  no  halt,  for  the  Potomac  was 
rising,  and  an-attackwas  hourly  expected  from  the 
enemy  in  the  rear. 


268  THE    LOSSES.  [1863, 

Meade,  however,  did  not  pursue  for  several  days, 
and  then  to  no  purpose  ;  so  that  Lee's  crippled 
army  escaped  into  Virginia,  but  it  was  disabled 
from  ever  doing  anything  more  than  prolong 
ing  the  contest.  Gettysburg  was  essentially  the 
Waterloo  of  the  war,  and  there  is  a  striking  paral 
lel  in  the  losses.  The  numbers  engaged  were  very 
nearly  the  same- in  the  one  battle  as  in  the  other. 
At  Waterloo  the  victors  lost  twenty-three  thousand 
one  hundred  and  eighty-five  men,  and  the  van 
quished,  in  round  numbers,  thirty  thousand.  At 
Gettysburg  the  National  loss  was  twenty-three 
thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety  —  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing.  The  Confederate  losses 
were  never  officially  reported,  but  estimates  place 
them  at  nearly  thirty  thousand.  Lee  left  seven 
thousand  of  his  wounded  among  the  unburied 
dead,  and  twenty-seven  thousand  muskets  were 
picked  up  on  the  field. 

The  romantic  and  pathetic  incidents  of  this  great 
battle  are  innumerable.  John  Burns,  a  resident  of 
Gettysburg,  seventy  years  old,  had  served  in  the 
war  of  1812,  being  one  of  Miller's  men  at  Lundy's 
Lane,  and  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  had  tried  to 
enlist  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion,  but  was 
rejected  as  too  old.  When  the  armies  approached 
the  town,  he  joined  the  7th  Wisconsin  regiment 
and  displayed  wonderful  skill  as  a  sharp-shoot 
er  ;  but  he  was  wounded  in  the  afternoon,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Confederates,  told  some 
plausible  story  to  account  for  his  lack  of  a  uniform, 
and  was  finally  carried  to  his  own  house.  Jenny 


1863.1  INCIDENTS.  269 

Wade  was  baking  bread  for  Union  soldiers  when 
the  advance  of  the  Confederate  line  surrounded 
her  house  with  enemies  ;  but  she  kept  on  at  her 
work,  in  spite  of  orders  to  desist,  until  a  stray  bul 
let  struck  her  dead.  An  unknown  Confederate 
officer  lay  mortally  wounded  within  the  Union 
lines,  and  one  of  the  commanders  sent  to  ask  his 
name  and  rank.  "  Tell  him,"  said  the  dying  man, 
"  that  I  shall  soon  be  where  there  is  no  rank  "  — 
and  he  was  never  identified.  Lieutenant  Alonzo 
H.  Cushing  commanded  a  battery  on  General 
Webb's  line,  and  in  the  cannonade  preceding  the 
great  charge  on  the  third  day  all  his  guns  but 
one  were  disabled,  and  he  was  mortally  wounded. 
When  the  charging  column  approached,  he  ex 
claimed  :  "  Webb,  I  will  give  them  one  more 
shot ! "  ran  his  gun  forward  to  the  stone  wall,  fired 
it,  said  "  Good-bye  !  "  and  fell  dead.  Barksdale, 
of  Mississippi,  had  been  an  extreme  secessionist,  and 
had  done  much  to  bring  on  the  war.  At  that  part  of 
the  line  where  he  fell,  the  Union  commander  was 
General  David  B.  Birney,  son  of  a  slaveholder  that 
had  emancipated  his  slaves,  had  been  mobbed  for 
his  abolitionism,  and  had  twice  been  the  Presi 
dential  candidate  of  the  Liberty  party.  A  general 
of  the  National  army,  who  was  present,  remarks 
that  Barksdale  died  "  like  a  brave  man,  with  dig 
nity  and  resignation."  On  that  field  perished  also 
the  cause  that  he  represented  ;  and  as  Americans 
we  may  all  be  proud  to  say  that,  so  far  as  manly 
courage  could  go,  it  died  with  dignity,  if  not  with 
resignation. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

THE    VICKSBURG   CAMPAIGN. 

IN  the  autumn  of  1862,  after  the  battles  of  luka 
and  Corinth,  the  National  commanders  in  the 
West  naturally  began  to  think  of  further  move- 
ments  southward  into  the  State  of  Mississippi,  and 
of  opening  the  great  river  and  securing  unob 
structed  navigation  from  Cairo  to  the  Gulf.  The 
project  was  slow  in  execution,  principally  from 
division  of  authority,  and  doubt  as  to  what  general 
would  ultimately  have  the  command.  John  A. 
McClernand,  who  had  been  a  Democratic  member 
of  Congress  from  Illinois,  and  was  what  was  known 
as  a  "political  general,"  spent  some  time  in  Wash 
ington,  urging  the  plan  upon  the  President  (who 
was  an  old  acquaintance  and  personal  friend),  of 
course  in  the  expectation  that  he  would  be  en 
trusted  with  its  execution.  But  he  found  little 
favor  with  General  Halleck.  At  this  time  Gen 
eral  Grant  hardly  knew  what  were  the  limits  of  his 
command,  or  whether  indeed  he  really  had  any 
command  at  all. 

Vicksburg  is  on  a  high  bluff  overlooking  the 
Mississippi,  where  it  makes  a  sharp  bend  enclosing 
a  long,  narrow  peninsula.  The  railroad  from 
Shreveport,  La.,  reaches  the  river  at  this  point, 
and  connects  by  ferry  with  the  railroad  running 


1862.]  OPERATIONS    ON    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  2jl 

east  from  Vicksburg  through  Jackson,  the  State 
capital.  The  distance  between  the  two  cities  is 
forty-five  miles.  About  a  hundred  miles  below 
Vicksburg  is  Port  Hudson,  similarly  situated  as  to 
river  and  railways.  Between  these  two  points  the 
great  Red  River,  coming  from  the  borders  of  Texas, 
Arkansas,  and  Louisiana,  flows  into  the  Mississippi. 
As  the  Confederates  drew  a  large  part  of  their  sup 
plies  from  Texas  and  the  country  watered  by  the 
Red  River,  it  was  of  the  first  importance  to  them 
to  retain  control  of  the  Mississippi  between  Vicks 
burg  and  Port  Hudson,  especially  after  they  had 
lost  New  Orleans,  Baton  Rouge,  and  Memphis. 

After  taking  New  Orleans,  in  April,  1862,  Far- 
ragut  had  gone  up  the  river  with  some  of  his 
ships,  in  May,  and  demanded  the  surrender  of 
Vicksburg;  but  though  the  place  was  then  but 
slightly  fortified,  the  demand  was  refused,  and 
without  a  land  force  he  could  not  take  the  city,  as 
it  was  too  high  to  be  damaged  by  his  guns.  He 
ran  by  the  batteries  in  June,  and  communicated 
with  the  river  fleet  of  Captain  Charles  H.  Davis. 
But  all  the  while  new  batteries  were  being  planted 
on  the  bluffs,  and  after  a  time  it  became  exceed 
ingly  hazardous  for  any  sort  of  craft  to  run  the 
gauntlet  under  their  plunging  fire.  In  August,  a 
Confederate  force,  under  General  John  C.  Breckin- 
ridge,  attempted  the  capture  of  Baton  Rouge,  ex 
pecting  to  be  assisted  in  the  assault  by  an  immense 
iron-clad  ram,  the  "Arkansas,"  which  was  coming 
down  the  river.  The  city  was  occupied  by  a  force 
under  General  Thomas  Williams,  who  made  a 


2/2     GRANT  PLANS  THE  CAPTURE  OF  VICKSBURG.      [1862. 

stubborn  and  bloody  fight,  driving  oil*  the  enemy. 
General  Williams  was  killed,  as  were  also  the  Con 
federate  General  Clarke  and  numerous  officers  of 
lower  rank  on  either  side,  and  more  than  six  hun 
dred  men  in  all  were  killed  or  wounded.  The  ram 
failed  to  take  part  in  the  fight,  because  her  machin 
ery  broke  down.  She  was  attacked  next  day  by 
two  or  three  vessels  commanded  by  Captain  (now 
Admiral)  David  D.  Porter,  and  when  she  had  been 
disabled  her  crew  abandoned  her  and  set  her  on 
fire,  and  she  was  blown  into  a  thousand  fragments. 
After  this  defeat,  General  Breckinridge  turned  his 
attention  to  the  fortification  of  Port  Hudson, 
which  was  made  almost  as  strong  as  Vicksburg. 

On  the  1 2th  of  November,  1862,  General  Grant 
received  a  despatch  from  General  Halleck  placing 
him  in  command  of  all  troops  sent  to  his  depart 
ment,  and  telling  him  to  fight  the  enemy  where  he 
pleased.  Four  days  later  Grant  and  Sherman  had 
a  conference  at  Columbus,  and  a  plan  was  ar 
ranged  and  afterward  modified,  by  which  Grant 
(who  then  had  about  thirty  thousand  men  under 
his  personal  command)  was  to  move  southward 
and  confront  an  equal  force,  commanded  by  Gene 
ral  John  C.  Pemberton,  on  the  Tallahatchie  ; 
while  Sherman,  with  thirty  thousand,  was  to  move 
from  Memphis  down  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  and,  assisted  by  Porter  and  his  gunboats, 
attempt  the  capture  of  Vicksburg  from  the  rear. 
If  Pemberton  moved  toward  that  city,  Grant  was 
to  follow  and  engage  him  as  soon  as  possible. 

Sherman   and   Porter,  with  their  usual  energy, 


1862.1 


LOSS    OF    HOLLY    SPRINGS. 


273 


went  to  work  with  all  speed  to  carry  out  their 
part  of  the  programme.  Grant  moved  more 
slowly,  because  he  did  not  wish  to  force  his  enemy 
back  upon  Vicksburg,  but  to  hold  him  as  far  north 


U«B2gSS5^ 


as  possible.  He  established  his  depot  of  supplies 
at  Holly  Springs,  and  waited  for  Sherman's  move 
ment.  But  the  whole  scheme  was  ruined  by  the 
activity  of  two  Confederate  cavalry  detachments 
under  Generals  Van  Dorn  and  Forrest.  On  the 
20th  of  December  Van  Dorn  made  a  dash  at  Holly 
Springs,  which  was  held  by  fifteen  hundred  men 


274   SHERMAN  AND  PORTER  DESCEND  THE  RIVER.    [1862. 

under  a  Colonel  Murphy,  and  captured  the  place 
and  its  garrison.  Grant  had  more  than  two  mil 
lion  dollars'  worth  of  supplies  there,  and  as  Van 
Dorn  could  not  remove  them  he  burned  them  all, 
together  with  the  storehouses  and  railroad  build 
ings.  Forrest,  making  a  wide  detour,  tore  up  a 
portion  of  the  railroad  between  Jackson,  Tenn., 
and  Columbus,  Ky.,  so  that  Grant's  army  was  cut 
off  from  all  communication  with  the  North  for 
more  than  a  week.  It  had  not  yet  occurred  to 
anybody  that  a  large  army  could  leave  its  com 
munications  and  subsist  on  supplies  gathered  in 
the  enemy's  country  ;  so  Grant  gave  up  this  part 
of  his  plan  and  moved  back  toward  Memphis. 

But  Sherman  and  Porter,  not  hearing  of  the 
disaster  at  Holly  Springs,  had  proceeded  with  their 
preparations,  embarked  the  troops,  and  gone  down 
the  river  in  a  long  procession,  the  gunboats  being 
placed  at  intervals  in  the  line  of  transports.  Sher 
man  says  :  "  We  manoeuvred  by  divisions  and 
brigades  when  in  motion,  and  it  was  a  magnificent 
sight.  What  few  of  the  inhabitants  remained  at 
the  plantations  on  the  river  bank  were  unfriendly, 
except  the  slaves.  Some  few  guerilla  parties  in 
fested  the  banks,  but  did  not  dare  to  molest  so 
strong  a  force  as  I  then  commanded."  The  guerilla 
bands  alluded  to  had  been  a  serious  annoyance  to 
the  boats  patrolling  the  river.  Besides  the  sharp 
shooters  with  their  rifles,  small  parties  would  sud 
denly  appear  at  one  point  or  another  with  a  field 
gun,  fire  at  a  passing  boat,  and  disappear  before 
any  force  could  be  landed  to  pursue  them.  Far- 


1862.]  SHERMANS    ATTEMPT    ON    THE    YAZOO.  275 

ragut  had  been  obliged  to  destroy  the  town  of 
Donaldsonville,  in  order  to  punish  and  break  up 
this  practice  on  the  lower  reaches  of  the  river. 

The  expedition  arrived  at  Milliken's  Bend  on 
Christmas,  where  a  division  was  left,  and  whence 
a  brigade  was  sent  to  break  the  railroad  from 
Shreveport.  The  next  day  the  boats,  with  the 
three  remaining  divisions,  ascended  the  Yazoo 
thirteen  miles  to  a  point  opposite  the  bluffs  north 
of  Vicksburg,  where  the  troops  were  landed.  They 
were  here  on  the  low  bottom-land,  which  was 
crossed  by  numerous  bayous,  some  parts  of  it 
heavily  wooded,  the  clearings  being  abandoned 
cotton  plantations.  The  bluffs  were  crowned  with 
artillery,  and  along  their  base  was  a  deserted  bed 
of  the  Yazoo.  Most  of  the  bridges  were  destroyed, 
and  the  whole  district  was  subject  to  inundation. 
It  was  ugly  ground  for  the  operations  of  an  army  ; 
but  Sherman,  confident  that  Grant  was  holding 
Pemberton,  felt  sure  there  could  not  be  a  heavy 
force  on  the  heights,  and  resolved  to  capture  them 
without  delay.  The  27th  and  28th  were  spent  in 
reconnoitering,  selecting  points  for  attack,  and 
placing  the  troops.  On  the  29th,  while  the  gun 
boats  made  a  diversion  at  Raines's  Bluff,  and  a 
part  of  Steele's  division  made  a  feint  on  the  right, 
near  Vicksburg,  the  main  force  crossed  the  inter 
vening  bayous  at  two  points  and  attacked  the 
centre  of  the  position.  The  battle  was  begun  by  a 
heavy  artillery  fire,  followed  by  musketry,  and  then 
the  rush  of  the  men.  They  had  to  face  guns,  at 
the  foot  of  the  bluff,  that  swept  the  narrow  ap- 


276  ACTION    AT    THE    BLUFFS.  [1862. 

preaches,  and  at  the  same  time  endure  a  cross-fire 
from  the  heights.  Blair's  brigade  reached  the 
base  of  the  hills,  but  was  not  properly  supported 
by  Morgan's,  and  had  to  fall  back  again,  leaving 
five  hundred  of  its  men  behind.  The  6th  Missouri 
regiment,  at  another  point,  had  also  gone  forward 
unsupported,  reached  the  bluff,  and  could  not  re 
turn.  The  men  quickly  scooped  niches  in  the 
bank  with  their  hands  and  sheltered  themselves  in 
them,  while  many  of  the  enemy  came  to  the  edge 
of  the  hill,  held  out  their  muskets  vertically  at 
arms'-length,  and  fired  down  at  them.  These  men 
were  not  able  to  get  back  to  their  lines  till 
nightfall.  This  assault  cost  Sherman  eighteen 
hundred  and  forty-eight  men,  and  inflicted  upon 
the  Confederates  a  loss  of  but  two  hundred.  He 
made  arrangements  to  send  a  heavy  force  on  the 
transports  to  Haines's  Bluff  in  the  night  of  De 
cember  30,  to  be  debarked  at  dawn  and  storm  the 
works  there,  while  the  rest  of  the  troops  were  to 
advance  as  soon  as  the  defences  had  been  thus 
taken  in  reverse.  But  a  heavy  fog  prevented  the 
boats  from  moving,  and  the  next  day  a  rain  set  in. 
Sherman  observed  the  water-marks  on  the  trees 
ten  feet  above  his  head,  and  a  great  deal  more 
than  ten  feet  above  his  head  in  the  other  direction 
he  saw  whole  brigades  of  reinforcements  marching 
into  the  enemy's  intrenchments.  He  knew  then 
that  something  must  have  gone  wrong  with  Grant's 
cooperating  force,  and  so  he  wisely  reembarked 
his  men  and  munitions,  and  steamed  down  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Yazoo. 


1863.]  CAPTURE   OF  ARKANSAS    POST.  277 

On  the  4th  of  January,  1863,  General  McCler- 
nand  assumed  command  of  the  two  corps  that 
were  commanded  by  Generals  Sherman  and 
George  W.  Morgan.  A  fortnight  before,  a  Con 
federate  boat  had  come  out  of  Arkansas  River 
and  captured  a  mail-boat,  and  it  was  known  that 
there  was  a  Confederate  garrison  of  five  thousand 
men  at  Fort  Hindman,  or  Arkansas  Post,  on  the 
Arkansas.  It  occurred  to  Sherman  that  there 
could  be  no  safety  for  boats  on  the  Mississippi 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas  till  this  post  was 
captured  or  broken  up  ;  and  accordingly  he  asked 
McClernand  to  let  him  attack  it  with  his  corps, 
assisted  by  some  of  the  gunboats.  McClernand 
concluded  to  go  himself  with  the  entire  army,  and 
Porter  also  accompanied  in  person,  They  landed 
on  the  roth  below  the  fort,  and  drove  in  the  pick 
ets.  That  night  the  Confederates  toiled  all 
night  to  throw  up  a  line  of  works  reaching  from 
the  fort  northward  to  an  impassable  swamp.  On 
the  nth  the  whole  National  force  moved  forward 
simultaneously  to  the  attack,  the  gunboats  steam 
ing  up  close  to  the  fort  and  sweeping  its  bastions 
with  their  fire,  while  Morgan's  corps  moved  against 
its  eastern  face,  and  Sherman's  against  the  new 
line  of  works.  The  ground  to  be  passed  over  was 
level,  with  little  shelter  save  a  few  trees  and  logs  ; 
but  the  men  advanced  steadily,  lying  down  behind 
every  little  projection,  and  so  annoying  the  artil 
lerymen  with  their  sharpshooting  that  the  guns 
could  not  be  well  served.  When  the  gunboats  ar 
rived  abreast  of  the  fort  and  enfiladed  it,  the  gunners 


278  CUTTING    A    CANAL.  [1863. 

ran  down  into  the  ditch,  a  man  with  a  white  flag 
appeared  on  the  parapet,  and  presently  white  flags 
and  rags  were  fluttering  all  along  the  line.  Firing 
was  stopped  at  once,  and  the  fort  was  surrendered 
by  its  commander,  General  Churchill.  About  one 
hundred  and  fifty  of  the  garrison  had  been  killed, 
and  the  remainder,  numbering  forty-eight  hun 
dred,  were  made  prisoners.  The  National  loss  was 
about  one  thousand.  The  fort  was  dismantled  and 
destroyed,  and  the  stores  taken  on  board  the  fleet. 
McClernand  conceived  a  vague  project  for  ascend 
ing  the  river  farther,  but  on  peremptory  orders 
from  Grant  the  expedition  returned  to  the  Missis 
sippi,  steaming  down  the  Arkansas  in  a  heavy 
snow-storm. 

In  accordance  with  instructions  from  Washing 
ton,  Grant  now  took  personal  command  of  the 
operations  on  the  Mississippi,  dividing  his  entire 
force  into  four  corps,  to  be  commanded  by  Gene 
rals  McClernand,  Sherman,  Stephen  A.  Hurlbut, 
and  James  B.  McPherson.  Hurlbut's  corps  was 
left  to  hold  the  lines  east  of  Memphis,  while  the 
other  troops,  with  reinforcements  from  the  North, 
were  united  in  the  river  expedition. 

McClernand  and  Sherman  went  down  to  the 
peninsula  enclosed  in  the  bend  of  the  river  oppo 
site  Vicksburg,  and  with  immense  labor  dug  a 
canal  across  it.  Much  was  hoped  from  this,  but  it 
proved  a  failure,  for  the  river  would  not  flow 
through  it.  Furthermore,  there  were  bluffs  com 
manding  the  river  below  Vicksburg,  and  the  Con 
federates  had  already  begun  to  fortify  them  ;  so 


1863.]  YAZOO    PASS    ATTEMPTED.  279 

that  if  the  canal  had  succeeded,  navigation  of  the 
stream  would  have  been  as  much  obstructed  as 
before.  Still,  the  work  was  continued  till  the 
7th  of  March,  when  the  river  suddenly  rose  and 
overflowed  the  peninsula,  and  Sherman's  men 
barely  escaped  drowning  by  regiments. 

Grant  was  surveying  the  country  in  every  direc 
tion,  for  some  feasible  approach  to  the  flanks  of 
his  enemy.  One  scheme  was  to  move  through 
Lake  Providence  and  the  bayous  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  from  a  point  far  above  Vicksburg  to 
one  far  below.  This  involved  the  cutting  of 
another  canal,  from  the  Mississippi  to  one  of  the 
bayous,  and  McPherson's  corps  spent  a  large  part 
of  the  month  of  March  in  digging  and  dredging ; 
but  this  also  was  a  failure.  On  the  eastern  side 
of  the  Mississippi  there  had  once  been  an  opening, 
known  as  Yazoo  Pass,  by  which  boats  from  Mem 
phis  made  their  way  into  Coldwater  River,  thence 
into  the  Tallahatchie,  and  thence  into  the  Yazoo 
above  Yazoo  City ;  but  the  pass  had  been  closed 
by  a  levee  or  embankment.  Grant  blew  up  the 
levee,  and  tried  this  approach.  But  the  Confeder 
ates  had  information  of  every  movement,  and  took 
prompt  measures  to  thwart  it.  The  banks  of  the 
streams  where  his  boats  had  to  pass  were  heavily 
wooded,  and  great  trees  were  felled  across  the 
channel.  Worse  than  this,  after  the  boats  had 
passed  in  and  removed  many  of  the  obstructions, 
it  was  found  that  the  enemy  were  felling  trees 
across  the  channel  behind  them,  so  that  they  might 
not  get  out  again.  Earthworks  also  were  thrown 


28O  AN    ATTEMPT    BY    STEELED    BAYOU.  [1868. 

up  at  the  point  where  the  Yallabusha  and  Talla- 
hatchie  unite  to  form  the  Yazoo,  and  heavily 
manned.  Here  the  advance  division  of  the  expe 
dition  had  a  slight  engagement,  with  no  result. 
Reinforcements  arrived  under  General  Isaac  F. 
Quinby,  who  assumed  command,  and  began  opera 
tions  for  crossing  the  Yallabusha  and  rendering 
the  Confederate  fortification  useless,  when  he  was 
recalled  by  Grant,  who  had  found  that  the  neces 
sary  light-draft  boats  for  carrying  his  whole  force 
through  to  that  point  could  not  be  had. 

One  more  attempt  in  this  direction  was  made 
before  the  effort  to  flank  Vicksburg  on  the  north 
was  given  up.  It  was  proposed  to  ascend  the 
Yazoo  a  short  distance  from  its  mouth,  turn  into 
Steele's  bayou,  ascend  this,  and  by  certain  passes 
that  had  been  discovered  get  into  Big  Sunflower 
River,  and  then  descend  that  stream  into  the 
Yazoo  above  Haines's  Bluff.  Porter  and  Sherman 
took  the  lead  in  this  expedition,  and  encountered 
all  the  difficulties  of  the  Yazoo  Pass  project,  mag 
nified  several  times  —  the  narrow  channels,  the 
felled  trees,  the  want  of  solid  ground  on  which 
troops  could  be  manoeuvred,  the  horrible  swamps 
and  canebrakes,  through  some  of  which  they 
picked  their  way  with  lighted  candles,  and  the  an 
noyance  from  unseen  sharpshooters  that  swarmed 
through  the  whole  region.  Porter  at  one  time 
was  on  the  point  of  abandoning  his  boats  ;  but 
finally  all  were  extricated,  though  some  of  them 
had  to  back  out  through  the  narrow  pass  for  a 
distance  of  thirty  miles. 


1863.]  GRANT    CROSSES    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  28 1 

In  March,  Farragut  with  his  flagship  and  one 
gunboat  had  run  by  the  batteries  at  Port  Hudson, 
but  the  remainder  of  his  fleet  had  failed  to  pass. 
Several  boats  had  run  by  the  batteries  at  Vicks- 
burg ;  and  Grant  now  turned  his  attention  to  a 
project  for  moving  an  army  by  transports  through 
bayous  west  of  the  Mississippi  to  a  point  below  the 
city,  where  Porter,  after  running  by  the  batteries 
with  his  iron-clads,  was  to  meet  him  and  ferry  the 
troops  across  to  the  eastern  bank.  The  use  of  the 
bayous  was  finally  given  up,  and  the  army  marched 
by  the  roads,  following  the  route  indicated  by  the 
dotted  line  on  the  map  (page  273).  The  fleet  ran 
by  the  batteries  on  the  night  of  April  16.  As  soon 
as  it  was  discovered  approaching,  the  Confederates 
set  fire  to  immense  piles  of  wood  that  they  had 
prepared  on  the  bank,  the  whole  scene  became  as 
light  as  day,  and  for  an  hour  and  a  half  the  fleet 
was  under  a  heavy  fire,  which  it  returned  as  it 
steadily  steamed  by  ;  but  beyond  the  destruction 
of  one  transport  there  was  no  serious  loss. 

Bridges  had  to  be  built  over  bayous,  and  a  suit 
able  place  discovered  for  crossing  the  Mississippi. 
New  Carthage  was  tried,  but  found  impracticable, 
as  it  was  nearly  surrounded  by  water.  Grand  Gulf 
was  strongly  fortified,  and  on  the  2Qth  of  April 
seven  of  Porter's  gunboats  attacked  it.  They  fired 
five  hundred  shots  an  hour  for  five  hours,  and 
damaged  the  works  somewhat,  but  only  killed  or 
wounded  eighteen  men,  while  the  fleet  lost  twenty- 
six  men,  and  one  boat  was  seriously  disabled. 
Grant  therefore  gave  up  the  project  of  crossing 


282  GRIERSON'S  RAID.  [isea. 

here,  moved  his  transports  down  stream  under 
cover  of  darkness,  and  at  daylight  on  the  3Oth 
began  the  crossing  at  Bruinsburg.  McClernand's 
corps  was  in  the  advance,  and  marched  on  Port 
Gibson  that  night.  At  dawn  the  enemy  was  found 
in  a  strong  position  three  miles  west  of  that  place. 
There  was  sharp  fighting  all  day,  the  Confederate 
force  numbering  about  eight  thousand,  and  con 
testing  every  foot  of  the  ground  ;  but  the  line  was 
finally  disrupted,  and  at  nightfall  they  made  an  or 
derly  retreat,  burning  bridges  behind  them.  The 
National  loss  had  been  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  men  —  killed,  wounded,  or  missing;  the  Con 
federate  about  one  thousand.  Grant's  movements 
at  this  time  were  greatly  assisted  by  one  of  the 
most  effective  cavalry  raids  of  the  war.  This  was 
conducted  by  Colonel  Benjamin  H.  Grierson,  who, 
with  seventeen  hundred  men,  set  out  from  La 
Grange,  Tenn.,  on  the  i7th  of  April,  and  rode 
southward  through  the  whole  State  of  Mississippi, 
tearing  up  railroads,  burning  bridges,  destroying 
supplies,  eluding  every  strong  force  that  was  sent 
out  to  stop  him,  defeating  several  small  ones, 
floundering  through  swamps,  swimming  rivers, 
spreading  consternation  by  the  celerity  and  un 
certainty  of  his  movements,  and  finally  riding  into 
Baton  Rouge  at  the  end  of  sixteen  days  with  half 
his  men  asleep  in  their  saddles.  He  had  lost  but 
twenty-seven. 

The  fortifications  at  Grand  Gulf  were  aban 
doned,  Porter  took  possession  of  them,  and  Grant 
established  his  base  there.  A  bridge  had  to  be  re- 


1863.]  ACTION    AT    RAYMOND.  283 

built  at  Port  Gibson,  and  then  Crocker's  division 
pushed  on  in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  Confeder 
ates,  saved  a  burning  bridge  at  Bayou  Pierre,  came 
up  with  them  at  Willow  Springs,  and  after  a  slight 
engagement  drove  them  across  the  Big  Black  at 
Hankinson's  Ferry,  and  saved  the  bridge.  There 
was  a  slight  delay,  for  Sherman's  corps  and  the 
supplies  to  arrive,  and  then  Grant  pressed  on  reso 
lutely  with  his  whole  army.  He  had  with  him 
about  forty-one  thousand  men,  subsequently  in 
creased  to  forty-five  thousand  ;  and  Pemberton  at 
this  time  had  about  fifty  thousand. 

Grant  moved  northeasterly,  toward  Jackson, 
and  on  the  I2th  of  May  found  a  hostile  force  near 
Raymond.  It  numbered  but  three  thousand,  and 
was  soon  swept  away,  though  not  until  it  had  lost 
five  hundred  men  and  inflicted  a  loss  of  four  hun 
dred  and  thirty-two  upon  the  National  troops.  It 
was  the  purpose  of  the  Union  commander  to  move 
swiftly,  and  beat  the  enemy  as  much  as  possible  in 
detail,  before  the  scattered  forces  could  concen 
trate  against  him.  Believing  there  was  a  consid 
erable  force  at  Jackson,  which  he  would  not  like  to 
leave  in  his  rear,  he  marched  on  that  place,  and 
the  next  conflict  occurred  there,  May  14.  Gen 
eral  Joseph  E.  Johnston  (whom  we  took  leave  of 
when  he  was  wounded  at  Seven  Pines,  nearly  a 
year  before)  had  just  been  ordered  by  the  Con 
federate  Government  to  take  command  of  all  the 
forces  in  Mississippi,  and  arrived  at  Jackson  in  the 
evening  of  the  i3th,  finding  there  about  twelve 
thousand  men  subject  to  his  orders.  Pemberton 


284  CAPTURE    OF   JACKSON.  [1863. 

was  at  Edwards  Station,  thirty  miles  westward, 
and  Grant  was  between  them.  Johnston  tele 
graphed  to  Richmond  that  he  was  too  late,  but 
took  what  measures  he  could  for  defence.  It 
rained  heavily  that  night,  and  the  next  morning, 
when  the  corps  of  Sherman  and  McPherson 
marched  against  the  city,  they  travelled  roads  that 
were  a  foot  under  water.  McPherson  came  up  on 
the  west,  and  Sherman  on  the  southwest  and 
south.  The  enemy  was  met  two  miles  out,  and 
driven  in  with  heavy  skirmishing.  While  manceu- 
vering  was  going  on  before  the  intrenchments,  the 
Union  commanders  seeking  for  a  suitable  point  to 
assault,  it  was  discovered  that  the  enemy  was  evac 
uating  the  place,  and  Grant  and  his  men  went  in 
at  once  and  hoisted  the  National  colors.  They 
had  lost  two  hundred  and  ninety  men  in  the  skir 
mishing  ;  the  enemy  eight  hundred  and  forty-five, 
mostly  captured.  Seventeen  guns  were  taken, 
but  the  Confederates  burned  most  of  their  stores. 
Leaving  Sherman  at  Jackson  to  destroy  the 
railroad  and  the  factories  that  were  turning  out 
goods  for  the  Confederacy,  which  he  did  very 
thoroughly,  Grant  ordered  all  his  other  forces  to 
concentrate  at  Bolton,  twenty  miles  west.  March 
ing  thence  westward,  keeping  the  corps  well  to- 
together,  and  ordering  Sherman  to  send  forward 
an  ammunition-train  —  for  he  knew  that  a  battle 
must  soon  be  fought  —  Grant  found  Pemberton 
with  twenty-three  thousand  men  waiting  to  re 
ceive  him  at  Champion's  Hill,  on  high  ground  well 
selected  for  defence,  which  covered  the  three  roads 


1863.J  BATTLE    OF    CHAMPION'S    HILL.  285 

leading  westward.  The  battle,  May  15,  lasted 
four  hours,  and  was. the  bloodiest  of  the  campaign. 
The  brunt  of  it,  on  the  National  side,  was  borne 
by  the  divisions  of  Hovey,  Logan,  and  Crocker ; 
and  Hovey  lost  more  than  one  third  of  his  men. 
Logan's  division  pushed  forward  on  the  right, 
passed  Pemberton's  left  flank,  and  held  the  only 
road  by  which  the  enemy  could  retreat.  But  this 
was  not  known  to  the  Union  commander  at  the 
time,  and  when  Hovey,  hard  pressed,  called  for 
help,  Logan  was  drawn  back  to  his  assistance,  and 
the  road  uncovered.  A  little  later  Pemberton  was 
in  full  retreat  toward  the  crossing  of  the  Big  Black 
River,  leaving  his  dead  and  wounded  and  thirty 
guns  on  the  field.  Grant's  loss  in  the  action  — 
killed,  wounded,  and  missing  —  was  twenty-four 
hundred  and  forty-one.  Pemberton's  was  over 
three  thousand  killed  and  wounded  (including  Gen 
eral  Tilghman  killed),  besides  nearly  as  many  more 
captured  in  battle  or  on  the  retreat. 

The  enemy  was  next  found  at  the  Big  Black 
River,  where  he  had  placed  his  main  line  on  the 
high  land  west  of  the  stream,  and  stationed  his  ad 
vance  (or,  properly  speaking,  his  rear  guard)  along 
the  edge  of  a  bayou  that  ran  through  the  low 
ground  on  the  east.  This  advanced  position  was 
attacked  vigorously  on  the  1 7th,  and  when  Law- 
ler's  brigade  flanked  it  on  the  right,  that  General 
leading  a  charge  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  the  whole  line 
gave  way,  and  Pemberton  resumed  his  retreat, 
burning  the  bridge  behind  him  and  leaving  his 

o  o  o 

men  in  the  lowland  to  their  fate.    Some  swam  the 


286  PEMBERTON    SHUT    UP    IN    VICKSBURG.  [1863. 

river,  some  were  drowned,  and  seventeen  hundred 
and  fifty  were  made  prisoners.  Eighteen  guns 
were  captured  here.  The  National  loss  was  two 
hundred  and  seventy-nine. 

Sherman  now  came  up  with  his  corps,  and  Grant 
ordered  the  building  of  three  bridges.  One  was 
a  floating  or  raft  bridge,  one  was  made  by  felling 
trees  on  both  sides  of  the  stream  and  letting  them 
fall  so  that  their  boughs  would  interlace  over  the 
channel,  the  trunks  not  being  cut  entirely  through, 
and  so  hanging  to  the  stumps.  Planks  laid  cross 
wise  on  these  trees  made  a  good  roadway.  The 
third  bridge  was  made  by  using  cotton  bales  for 
pontoons.  Sherman's  troops  made  a  fourth  bridge 
farther  up  the  stream  ;  and  that  night  he  and 
Grant  sat  on  a  log  and  watched  the  long  proces 
sion  of  blue-coated  men  with  gleaming  muskets 
marching  across  the  swaying  structure  by  the  light 
of  pitch-pine  torches.  All  the  bridges  were  fin 
ished  by  morning,  and  that  day,  the  i8th,  the  en 
tire  army  was  west  of  the  river. 

Pemberton  marched  straight  into  Vicksburg, 
which  had  a  long  line  of  defences  on  the  land  side 
as  well  as  on  the  water  front,  and  shut  himself  up 
there.  Grant,  following  closely,  invested  the  place 
on  the  iQth.  Sherman,  holding  the  right  of  the 
line,  was  at  Raines's  Bluff,  occupying  the  very 
ground  beneath  which  his  men  had  suffered  defeat 
some  months  before.  Here,  on  the  Yazoo,  Grant 
established  a  new  base  for  supplies.  McPherson's 
corps  was  next  to  Sherman's  on  the  left,  and 
McClernand's  next,  reaching  to  the  river  below 


1863.1  AN    UNSUCCESSFUL    ASSAULT.  287 

the  city.  Sharp  skirmishing  went  on  while  the 
armies  were  getting  into  position,  and  an  assault 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  iQth  gained  the  National 
troops  some  advantage  in  the  advancement  of  the 
line  to  better  ground.  Grant's  army  had  been 
living  for  three  weeks  on  five  days'  rations,  with 
what  they  could  pick  up  in  the  country  they  passed 
through,  which  was  not  a  little,  and  his  first  care 
was  to  construct  roads  in  the  rear  of  his  line,  so 
that  supplies  could  be  brought  up  from  the  Yazoo 
rapidly  and  regularly,  He  had  now  about  thirty 
thousand  men,  the  line  of  defences  before  him  was 
eight  miles  long,  and  he  expected  an  attack  from 
Johnston  in  the  rear.  At  ten  o'clock  on  the  22d, 
therefore,  he  ordered  a  grand  assault,  hoping  to 
carry  the  works  by  storm.  But  though  the  men 
at  several  points  reached  the  breastworks  and 
planted  their  battle-flags  on  them,  it  was  found 
impossible  to  take  them.  McClernand  falsely  re 
ported  that  he  had  carried  two  forts  at  his  end  of 
the  line,  and  asked  for  reinforcements,  which  were 
sent  to  him,  and  a  renewal  of  the  assault  was  made 
to  help  him.  This  caused  additional  loss  of  life 
to  no  purpose,  and  shortly  afterward  that  general 
was  relieved  of  his  command,  which  was  given  to 
General  E.  O.  C.  Ord. 

After  this  assault,  which  had  cost  him  nearly 
twenty-five  hundred  men,  Grant  settled  down  to  a 
siege  of  Vicksburg  by  regular  approaches.  The 
work  went  on  day  by  day,  with  the  usual  incidents 
of  a  siege.  There  was  mining  and  counter-mining, 
and  two  large  mines  were  exploded  under  angles 


288  INCIDENTS    OF    THE    SIEGE. 

of  the  Confederate  works,  but  without  any  practi 
cal  result.  The  great  guns  were  booming  night 
and  day,  throwing  thousands  of  shells  into  the  city, 
and  more  than  one  citizen  picked  up  and  threw 
into  a  heap  hundreds  of  pounds  of  the  iron  frag 
ments  that  fell  into  his  yard.  Caves  were  dug  in 
the  banks  where  the  streets  had  been  cut  through 
the  clayey  hills,  and  in  these  the  people  found  ref 
uge  from  the  shells.  A  newspaper  was  issued 
regularly  even  to  the  last  day  of  the  siege,  but  it 
was  printed  on  the  back  of  wall-paper.  Provisions 
of  course  became  scarce,  and  mule-meat  was  eaten. 
Somebody  printed  a  humorous  bill  of  fare,  which 
consisted  entirely  of  mule-meat  in  the  various 
forms  of  soup,  roast,  stew,  etc.  All  the  while  the 
besiegers  were  digging  away,  bringing  their 
trenches  closer  to  the  defences,  till  the  soldiers  of 
the  hostile  lines  bandied  jests  across  the  narrow 
intervening  space.  At  the  end  of  forty-seven  days 
the  works  arrived  at  the  point  where  a  grand 
assault  must  be  the  next  thing,  and  at  the  same 
time  famine  threatened  and  the  National  holiday 
was  at  hand.  After  some  negotiation  General 
Pemberton  unconditionally  surrendered  the  city 
and  his  army  of  thirty-one  thousand  six  hundred 
men  on  the  4th  of  July,  1863,  one  day  after  Lee's 
defeat  at  Gettysburg. 

Port  Hudson,  which  Banks  with  twelve  thou 
sand  men  and  Farragut  with  his  fleet  had  besieged 
for  weeks,  was  surrendered  with  its  garrison  of  six 
thousand  men  five  days  after  the  fall  of  Vicksburg. 
The  entire  Confederate  loss  in  Mississippi,  from 


1863.]  PEMBERTON'S  SURRENDER.  289 

the  time  Grant  entered  the  State  at  Bruinsburg  to 
the  surrender,  was  about  fifty  thousand  ;  Grant's 
was  about  nine  thousand.  But  the  great  triumph 
was  in  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi  River,  which 
cut  the  Confederacy  completely  in  two. 

By  Grant's  orders  there  was  no  cheering,  no 
firing  of  salutes,  no  expression  of  exultation  at  the 
surrender ;  because  the  triumph  was  over  our  own 
countrymen,  and  the  object  of  it  all  was  to  estab 
lish  a  permanent  Union. 

In  his  correspondence  with  Pemberton,  while 
demanding  an  unconditional  surrender,  Grant  had 
written  :  "  Men  who  have  shown  so  much  endur 
ance  and  courage  as  those  now  in  Vicksburg  will 
always  challenge  the  respect  of  an  adversary,  and 
I  can  assure  you  will  be  treated  with  all  the  re 
spect  due  to  prisoners  of  war.  I  do  not  favor 
the  proposition  of  appointing  commissioners  to 
arrange  the  terms  of  capitulation,  because  I  have 
no  terms  other  than  those  indicated  above."  As 
soon  as  the  surrender  was  effected,  the  famished 
Confederate  army  was  liberally  supplied  with 
food,  Grant's  men  taking  it  out  of  their  own  hav 
ersacks.  All  the  prisoners  at  Vicksburg  and 
Port  Hudson  were  immediately  paroled  and  fur 
nished  with  transportation  and  supplies,  under  the 
supposition  that  they  would  go  to  their  homes  and 
remain  there  till  properly  exchanged. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  DRAFT  RIOTS. 

WHEN  Lee's  second  attempt  at  invasion  had  ended 
at  Gettysburg  even  more  disastrously  than  his  first, 
and  he  returned  to  Virginia  at  the  head  of  hardly 
more  than  half  of  the  army  with  which  he  had  set 
out,  and  on  the  next  day  Vicksburg  fell,  the  Mis 
sissippi  was  opened,  and  Pemberton's  entire  army 
stacked  their  muskets  and  became  prisoners,  the 
war  should  have  ended  ;  for  the  question  on  which 
the  appeal  to  arms  had  been  made  was  practically 
decided.  Four  great  slave  States — Maryland,  Ken 
tucky,  Tennessee,  and  Missouri  —  had  never  really 
joined  the  Confederacy,  though  some  of  them 
were  represented  in  its  Congress  ;  and  the  terri 
tory  that  it  actually  held  was  steadily  diminishing. 
The  great  blockade  was  daily  growing  more  effect 
ive,  the  largest  city  in  the  South  had  been  held  by 
National  troops  for  fifteen  months,  and  the  Fed 
eral  authority  was  maintained  somewhere  in  every 
State,  with  the  sole  exception  of  Alabama.  The 
delusion  that  Southern  soldiers  would  make  a  bet 
ter  army,  man  for  man,  than  Northern,  had  long 
since  been  dispelled.  The  nation  had  suffered 
from  incompetent  commanders ;  but  time  and  ex 
perience  had  weeded  them  out,  and  the  really  able 
ones  were  now  coming  to  the  front.  The  taboo 


1863.]  WHY    THE    WAR    WAS   CONTINUED.  2QI 

had  been  removed  from  the  black  man,  and  he  was 
rapidly  putting  on  the  blue  uniform  to  fight  for 
the  enfranchisement  of  his  race.  Lincoln  with  his 
proclamation,  and  Meade  and  Grant  with  their 
victories,  had  destroyed  the  last  chance  of  foreign 
intervention.  In  the  military  situation  there  was 
nothing  to  justify  any  further  hope  for  the  Confed 
eracy,  or  any  more  destruction  of  life  in  the  vain 
endeavor  to  disrupt  the  Union.  If  there  was  any 
justification  for  a  continuance  of  the  struggle  on 
the  part  of  the  insurgents,  it  was  to  be  found  only 
in  a  single  circumstance — the  attitude  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party  in  the  Northern  States  ;  but  it  must  be 
confessed  that  this  was  such  as  to  give  consider 
able  color  to  their  expectation  of  ultimate  success. 
The  habitual  feeling  of  antagonism  to  the  oppo 
site  party,  from  which  few  men  in  a  land  of  popular 
politics  are  ever  wholly  free,  was  reenforced  by  a , 
sincere  belief  on  the  part  of  many  that  the  Gov-\ 
ernment,  in  determining  to  crush  the  rebellion,  had 
undertaken  a  larger  task  than  it  could  ever  accom- 
rlish.  This  belief  was  born  of  an  ignorance  that 
it  was  impossible  to  argue  with,  because  it  sup 
posed  itself  to  be  enlightened  and  fortified  by  great 
historical  facts.  Both  conscious  and  unconscious 
demagogues  picked  out  little  shreds  of  history  and 
formulated  phrases  and  catch-words,  which  village 
newspapers  and  village  statesmen  confidently  re 
peated  as  unanswerable  arguments  from  the  expe 
rience  of  nations.  Thus  Pitt's  exclamation  during 
the  war  of  American  independence,  "You  cannot 
conquer  America  !  "  was  triumphantly  quoted  thou- 


ARGUMENTS    OF    THE    OPPOSITION.  [1863. 

sands  of  times,  as  an  argument  for  the  impossibility 
of  conquering  the  South.  Assertions  were  freely 
made  that  the  despotism  of  the  Administration  (in 
trying  to  save  the  National  armies  from  useless 
slaughter,  by  arresting  spies  arid  traitors  at  the 
North)  exceeded  anything  ever  done  by  Caesar  or 
the  Russian  Czar.  The  word  "  bastile  "  was  given 
out,  without  much  explanation,  and  was  echoed  all 
along  the  line.  The  war-Governors  of  the  free 
States,  and  especially  the  provisional  military  Gov 
ernors  in  Tennessee  and  Louisiana,  were  called 
Lincoln's  satraps;  and  " satraps,"  with  diverse 
pronunciations,  became  a  popular  word.  The 
fathers  of  the  Republic  were  all  mentioned  with 
sorrowful  reverence,  and  it  was  declared  that  the 
Constitution  they  had  framed  was  destroyed  —  not 
by  the  secessionists,  but  by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his 
advisers.  Somebody  invented  a  story  that  Secre 
tary  Seward  had  said  he  had  only  to  reach  forth 
his  hand  and  ring  a  bell,  and  any  man  in  the  coun 
try  whom  he  might  designate  would  at  once  be 
seized  and  thrown  into  prison;  whereupon  "the 
tinkle  of  Seward's  little  bell "  became  a  frequent 
head-line  in  the  Democratic  journals.  The  army 
before  Vicksburg  was  pointed  at  in  derision,  as  be 
sieging  a  place  that  could  never  be  taken.. 

It  did  not  occur  to  any  of  these  orators  and 
journalists  to  explain  the  difference  between  an 
ocean  three  thousand  miles  wide  and  the  Rappa- 
hannock  River ;  or  the  difference  between  an  ab 
solute  monarch  born  to  the  purple  and  a  president 
elected  by  a  free  vote  of  the  people  ;  or  even  the 


1863.]  ARGUMENTS    OF    THE    OPPOSITION.  293 

difference  between  a  state  of  peace  and  a  state  of 
war.  None  of  them  told  their  hearers  that,  only 
eight  years  before,  the  city  of  Sebastopol  had 
withstood  the  combined  armies  of  England  and 
France  for  almost  a  year,  while  the  city  of  Vicks- 
burg,  when  Grant  besieged  it,  fell  on  the  forty- 
seventh  day.  Nor  did  any  of  them  ever  appear 
to  consider  what  the  probable  result  would  be  if 
the  entire  Democratic  party  in  Northern  States 
should  give  the  Administration  as  hearty  support 
as  it  received  from  its  own. 

It  is  easy  to  see  the  fallacy  of  all  those  argu 
ments  now,  and  the  unwisdom  of  the  policy  from 
which  they  sprang ;  but  they  were  a  power  in  the  I 
land  at  that  time,  and  wrought  unmeasured  mis 
chief.  The  most  conspicuous  opponent  of  the 
Government  in  the  West  was  Clement  L.  Vallan- 
digham,  of  Ohio,  whose  position  will  be  understood 
most  readily  from  a  few  of  his  public  utterances. 
He  wrote  in  May,  1861  :  "  The  audacious  usurpa 
tion  of  President  Lincoln,  for  which  he  deserves 
impeachment,  in  daring,  against  the  very  letter  of 
the  Constitution,  and  without  the  shadow  of  law, 
to  raise  and  support  armies,  and  to  provide  and  I 
maintain  a  navy,  for  three  years,  by  mere  execu 
tive  proclamation,  I  will  not  vote  to  sustain  or  rat 
ify —  never."  Speaking  in  his  place  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  in  January,  1863,  he  said  :  "  I 
have  denounced,  from  the  beginning,  the  usurpa 
tions  and  infractions,  one  and  all,  of  law  and  Consti 
tution,  by  the  President  and  those  under  him  ;  their 
repeated  and  persistent  arbitrary  arrests,  the  sus- 


294  VALLANDIGHAM    BANISHED.  [isd3. 

pension  of  habeas  corpus,  the  violation  of  freedom  of 
the  mails,  of  the  private  house,  of  the  press  and  of 
speech,  and  all  the  other  multiplied  wrongs  and  out 
rages  upon  public  liberty  and  private  right,  which 
have  made  this  country  one  of  the  worst  despo 
tisms  on  earth  for  the  past  twenty  months.  To  the 
record  and  to  time  I  appeal  for  my  justification." 
In  proposing  conciliation  and  compromise  as  a 
substitute  for  the  war,  he  said,  borrowing  the  lan 
guage  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  platform,  "  In 
considering  terms  of  settlement,  we  will  look  only 
to  the  welfare,  peace,  and  safety  of  the  white  race, 
without  reference  to  the  effect  that  settlement  may. 
have  upon  the  condition  of  the  African."  For 
these  and  similar  utterances,  especially  in  regard  to 
a  military  order  that  forbade  the  carrying  of  fire 
arms  and  other  means  of  disturbing  the  peace,  and 
for  the  effect  they  were  having  upon  his  followers, 
Mr.  Vallandigham  was  arrested  in  May,  1863,  by 
the  military  authorities  in  Ohio,  tried  by  court 
martial,  and  sentenced  to  imprisonment  during  the 
war.  The  President  commuted  the  sentence  to 
banishment  beyond  the  lines,  and  the  prisoner  was 
taken  south  through  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  and 
sent  into  Confederate  territory  under  a  flag  of 
truce.  This  of  course  placed  him  in  the  light  of 
a  martyr,  and  a  few  months  later  it  made  him  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  of  Ohio. 

In  the  East,  ex-President  Franklin  Pierce,  of 
New  Hampshire,  loomed  up  as  a  leader  of  the 
opposition.  His  famous  letter  to  Jefferson  Davis, 
predicting  bloodshed  in  Northern  cities,  has  been 


1863.]  PIERCE'S  SPEECH.  295 

quoted  in  a  previous  chapter.  In  an  elaborate 
Fourth-of-July  oration  at  Concord  he  said:  "  No 
American  citizen  was  then  [before  the  war]  subject 
to  be  driven  into  exile  for  opinion's  sake,  or  arbi 
trarily  arrested  and  incarcerated  in  military  bastiles 
—  even  as  he  may  now  be  —  not  for  acts  or  words 
of  imputed  treason,  but  if  he  do  but  mourn  in  silent 
sorrow  over  the  desolation  of  his  country.  Do  we 
not  all  know  that  the  cause  of  our  calamities  is  the 
vicious  intermeddling  of  too  many  of  the  citizens 
of  the  Northern  States  with  the  constitutional 
rights  of  the  Southern  States,  cooperating  with 
the  discontents  of  the  people  of  those  States  ?  We 
have  seen,  in  the  experience  of  the  last  two  years, 
how  futile  are  all  our  efforts  to  maintain  the  Union 
by  force  of  arms  ;  but,  even  had  war  been  carried 
on  by  us  successfully,  the  ruinous  result  would 
exhibit  its  utter  impracticability  for  the  attain 
ment  of  the  desired  end.  With  or  without  arms, 
with  or  without  leaders,  we  will  at  least,  in  the  ef 
fort  to  defend  our  rights  as  a  free  people,  build  up 
a  great  mausoleum  of  hearts,  to  which  men  who 
yearn  for  liberty  will  in  after-years,  with  bowed 
heads  and  reverently,  resort,  as  Christian  pilgrims 
to  the  sacred  shrines  of  the  Holy  Land."  This 
was  long  referred  to,  by  those  who  heard  it,  as 
"  the  mausoleum-of-hearts  speech." 

In  the  great  State  of  New  York  the  Democratic 
leader  was  Horatio  Seymour,  who  had  been  elected 
Governor  in  the  period  of  depression  that  followed 
the  military  defeats  of  1862.  While  Pierce  was 
speaking  in  Concord,  Seymour  was  delivering  in 


296  SEYMOUR'S  SPEECH. 

New  York  a  carefully  written  address,  in  which — 
like  Pierce  and  Vallandigham  —  he  complained,  not 
of  the  secessionists  for  making  war  at  the  South, 
but  of  the  Administration  for  curtailing  the  liberty 
of  the  Government's  enemies  at  the  North.  He 
said  :  "  When  I  accepted  the  invitation  to  speak 
at  this  meeting,  we  were  promised  the  downfall  of 
Vicksburg  [the  telegraph  brought  news  of  it  while 
he  was  speaking],  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi, 
the  probable  capture  of  the  Confederate  capital, 
and  the  exhaustion  of  the  rebellion.  When  the 
clouds  of  war  overhung  our  country,  we  implored 
those  in  authority  to  compromise  that  difficulty; 
for  we  had  been  told  by  that  great  orator  and 
statesman,  Burke,  that  there  never  yet  was  a  re 
volution  that  might  not  have  been  prevented  by  a 
compromise  opportunely  and  graciously  made. 
Until  we  have  a  united  North,  we  can  have  no  suc 
cessful  war  ;  until  we  have  a  united,  harmonious 
North,  we  can  have  no  beneficent  peace.  Re 
member  this,  that  the  bloody  and  treasonable  and 
revolutionary  doctrine  of  public  necessity  can  be 
proclaimed  by  a  mob  as  well  as  by  a  government." 
The  practical  effect  of  all  these  protests,  in  the 
name  of  liberty,  against  arrests  of  spies  and  traitors, 
and  suspension  of  the  habeas  corpus^  was  to  assist 
the  slave-holders  in  their  attempt  to  make  liberty 
forever  impossible  for  the  black  race,  in  pursuance 
of  which  they  were  willing  to  destroy  the  liberties 
of  the  white  race  and  sacrifice  hundreds  of  thou 
sands  of  lives,  most  of  which  were  valuable  to 
their  country  and  to  mankind,  being  lives  of  men 


1863.]  CAUSES   OF    RIOT.  297 

who  earned  a  living  by  the  sweat  of  their  own 
faces.  All  the  abridgment  of  the  liberties  of 
Northern  citizens,  in  time  of  war,  by  Presi 
dent  Lincoln's  suspension  of  the  writ,  and  by  arbi 
trary  arrests,  was  not  a  tithe  of  what  those  same 
citizens  had  suffered  in  time  of  peace  from  the 
existence  of  slavery  under  the  Constitution.  Yet 
neither  President  Pierce,  nor  Chief  Justice  Taney, 
nor  Horatio  Seymour,  nor  Mr.  Vallandigham, 
had  ever  uttered  one  word  of  protest  against 
the  denial  of  free  speech  in  criticism  of  that  insti 
tution,  or  against  the  systematic  rifling  of  mails  at 
the  South,  or  against  the  refusal  to  permit  Ameri 
can  citizens  to  sojourn  in  the  slave  States  unless 
they  believed  in  the  divine  right  of  slavery. 

It  was  no  wonder  that  such  utterances  as  those 
quoted  above,  by  the  leaders  of  a  party,  at  such  a 
time,  should  be  translated  by  its  baser  followers 
into  reasons  for  riot,  arson,  and  butchery.  Another 
exciting  cause  was  found  in  the  persistent  misinter 
pretation  of  what  was  meant  to  be  a  beneficent 
provision  of  the  conscription  law.  Drafts  had  been 
ordered  in  several  of  the  States  to  fill  up  quotas 
that  were  not  forthcoming  under  the  volunteer 
system.  The  law  provided  that  a  man  whose 
name  was  drawn,  if  he  did  not  wish  to  go  into  the 
service  himself,  might  either  procure  a  substitute 
orpay  three  hundred  dollars  to  the  Government  and 
be  released.  In  the  North,  where  there  were  no 
slaves  to  do  the  necessary  work  at  home,  it  was 
absolutely  essential  to  have  some  system  of 
substitution  ;  and  the  three-hundred-dollar  clause 


298  THE    DRAFT    IN    NEW    YORK.  [1863. 

was  introduced,  not  because  the  Government 
wanted  money  more  than  it  wanted  men,  but  to 
favor  the  poor  by  keeping  down  the  price  of  sub 
stitutes,  for  it  was  evident  that  that  price  could 
never  rise  above  the  sum  necessary  for  a  release. 
Yet  this  very  clause  was  attacked  by  the  journals 
that  assumed  to  champion  the  cause  of  the  poor, 
as  being  a  discrimination  in  favor  of  the  rich  !  Mr. 
Vallandigham  said  in  a  speech  at  Dayton  :  "  The 
three-hundred-dollar  provision  is  a  most  unjust 
discrimination  against  the  poor.  The  Administra 
tion  says  to  every  man  between  twenty  and  forty- 
five,  '  Three  hundred  dollars  or  your  life.' '  When 
the  clause  had  been  repealed,  in  consequence  of 
the  ignorant  clamor  raised  by  this  persistent  mis 
representation,  the  price  of  substitutes  rapidly  went 
beyond  a  thousand  dollars. 

A  new  levy  of  three  hundred  thousand  men  was 
called  for  in  April,  1863,  with  the  alternative  of  a 
draft  if  the  quotas  were  not  filled  by  volunteer 
ing.  The  quota  of  the  city  of  New  York  was  not 
filled,  and  a  draft  was  begun  there  on  Saturday, 
the  nth  of  July.  There  had  been  premonitions 
of  trouble  when  it  was  attempted  to  take  the  names 
and  addresses  of  those  subject  to  call,  and  in  the 
tenement-house  districts  some  of  the  marshals  had 
narrowly  escaped  with  their  lives.  On  the  morning 
when  the  draft  was  to  begin,  several  of  the  most 
widely  read  Democratic  journals  contained  edi 
torials  that  appeared  to  be  written  for  the  very 
purpose  of  inciting  a  riot.  They  asserted  that  any 
draft  at  all  was  unconstitutional  and  despotic,  and 


1863.]  THE    RIOTS. 

that  in  this  case  the  quota  demanded  from  the  city 
was  excessive,  and  denounced  the  war  as  a  "  mere 
abolition  crusade."  It  is  doubtful  if  there  was  any 
well-formed  conspiracy,  including  any  large  number 
of  persons,  to  get  up  a  riot ;  but  the  excited  state 
of  the  public  mind,  especially  among  the  laboring 
population,  inflammatory  handbills  displayed  in  the 
grog-shops,  the  presence  of  the  dangerous  classes, 
whose  best  opportunity  for  plunder  was  in  time  of 
riot,  and  the  absence  of  the  militia  that  had  been 
called  away  to  meet  the  invasion  of  Pennsylvania, 
all  favored  an  outbreak.  It  was  unfortunate  that 
the  draft  was  begun  on  Saturday,  and  the  Sunday 
papers  published  long  lists  of  the  names  that  were 
drawn  —  an  instance  of  the  occasional  mischievous 
results  of  journalistic  enterprise.  Those  interested 
had  all  Sunday  to  talk  it  over  in  their  accus 
tomed  meeting-places,  and  discuss  wild  schemes  of 
relief  or  retaliation  ;  and  the  insurrection  that  fol 
lowed  was  more  truly  a  popular  uprising  than  the 
rebellion  that  it  assisted  and  encouraged. 

When  the  draft  was  resumed  on  Monday,  the 
serious  work  began.  One  provost-marshal's  office 
was  at  the  corner  of  Third  Avenue  and  Forty-Sixth 
street.  It  was  guarded  by  sixty  policemen,  and 
the  wheel  was  set  in  motion  at  ten  o'clock.  The 
building  was  surrounded  by  a  dense,  angry  crowd, 
who  were  freely  cursing  the  draft,  the  police,  the 
National  Government,  and  "  the  nigger."  The 
drawing  had  been  in  progress  but  a  few  minutes 
when  there  was  a  shout  of  "  Stop  the  cars  ! " 
and  at  once  the  cars  were  stopped,  the  horses  re- 


300  THE    RIOTS   IN    NEW    YORK.  [1863 

leased,  the  conductors  and  passengers  driven  out, 
and  a  tumult  created.  Then  a  great  human  wave 
was  set  in  motion,  which  bore  down  everything 
before  it  and  rolled  into  the  marshal's  office,  driv 
ing  out  at  the  back  windows  the  officials  and  the 
policemen,  whose  clubs,  though  plied  rapidly  and 
knocking  down  a  rioter  at  every  blow,  could  not  dis 
pose  of  them  as  fast  as  they  came  on.  The  mob 
destroyed  everything  in  the  office,  and  then  set 
the  building  on  fire.  The  firemen  came  promptly, 
but  were  not  permitted  to  throw  any  water  upon 
the  flames.  At  this  moment  Superintendent 
John  A.  Kennedy,  of  the  police,  approaching  in 
cautiously  and  unarmed,  was  recognized  and  set 
upon  by  the  crowd,  who  gave  him  half  a  hundred 
blows  with  clubs  and  stones,  and  finally  threw  him 
face  downward  into  a  mud-puddle,  with  the  inten 
tion  of  drowning  him.  When  rescued,  he  was 
bruised  beyond  recognition,  and  was  lifted  into  a 
wagon  and  carried  to  the  police  headquarters. 
The  command  of  the  force  now  devolved  upon 
Commissioner  Thomas  C.  Acton  and  Inspector 
Daniel  Carpenter,  whose  management  during  three 
fearful  days  was  worthy  of  the  highest  praise. 

Another  marshal's  office,  where  the  draft  was  in 
progress,  was  at  Broadway  and  Twenty-Ninth 
street,  and  here  the  mob  burned  the  whole  block  of 
stores  on  Broadway  between  Twenty-Eighth  and 
Twenty-Ninth  streets.  At  Third  Avenue  and 
Forty-Fourth  street  there  was  a  battle  between  a 
small  force  of  police  and  a  mob,  in  which  the  police 
were  defeated,  many  of  them  being  badly  wounded 


1863.]  THE   RIOTS   IN   NEW    YORK.  30! 

by  stones  and  pistol-shots.  Some  of  them  who  were 
knocked  down  were  almost  instantly  robbed  of 
their  clothing.  Officer  Bennett  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  crowd,  and  was  beaten  so  savagely  that  no 
appearance  of  life  was  left  in  him,  when  he  was 
carried  away  to  the  dead-house  at  St.  Luke's  Hos 
pital.  Here  came  his  wife,  who  discovered  that 
his  heart  was  still  beating ;  means  of  restoration 
were  used  promptly,  and  after  three  days  of  un 
consciousness  and  a  long  illness  he  recovered. 
Another  officer  was  stabbed  twice  by  a  woman  in 
the  crowd ;  and  another,  disabled  by  a  blow  from 
an  iron  bar,  was  saved  by  a  German  woman,  who 
hid  him  between  two  mattresses  when  the  pursuing 
mob  was  searching  her  house  for  him.  In  the  af 
ternoon  a  small  police  force  held  possession  of  a 
gun-factory  in  Second  Avenue  for  four  hours,  and 
was  then  compelled  to  retire  before  the  persistent 
attacks  of  the  rioters,  who  hurled  stones  through 
the  windows  and  beat  in  the  doors. 

Toward  evening  a  riotous  procession  passed 
down  Broadway,  with  drums,  banners,  muskets, 
pistols,  pitchforks,  clubs,  and  boards  inscribed 
"No  Draft!"  Inspector  Carpenter,  at  the  head 
of  two  hundred  policemen,  marched  up  to  meet  it. 
His  orders  were,  "  Take  no  prisoners,  but  strike 
quick  and  hard."  The  mob  was  met  at  the  corner 
of  Amity  (or  West  Third)  street.  The  police 
charged  at  once  in  a  compact  body,  Carpenter 
knocking  down  the  foremost  rioter  with  a  blow 
that  cracked  his  skull,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
mob  scattered  and  fled,  leaving  Broadway  strewn 


3<D2  THE    RIOTS    IN    NEW    YORK.  [1863. 

with  their  wounded  and  dying.  From  this  time, 
the  police  were  victorious  in  every  encounter. 

During  the  next  two  days  there  was  almost  con 
stant  rioting,  mobs  appearing  at  various  points, 
both  up-town  and  down-town.  The  rioters  set 
upon  every  negro  that  appeared — whether  man, 
woman,  or  child  —  and  succeeded  in  murdering 
eleven  of  them.  One  they  deliberately  hanged  to 
a  tree  in  Thirty-Second  street,  his  only  offence 
being  the  color  of  his  skin.  At  another  place, 
seeing  three  negroes  on  a  roof,  they  set  fire  to  the 
house.  The  victims  hung  at  the  edge  of  the  roof 
a  long  time,  but  were  obliged  to  drop  before  the 
police  could  procure  ladders.  This  phase  of  the 
outbreak  found  its  worst  expression  in  the  sacking 
and  burning  of  the  Colored  Orphan  Asylum,  at 
Fifth  Avenue  and  Forty-Fourth  street.  The  two 
hundred  helpless  children  were  with  great  difficulty 
taken  away  by  the  rear  doors  while  the  mob  were 
battering  at  the  front.  The  excitement  of  the 
rioters  was  not  so  great  as  to  prevent  them  from 
coolly  robbing  the  building  of  everything  valuable 
that  could  be  removed,  before  they  set  it  on  fire. 
Bed-clothing,  furniture,  and  other  articles  were 
passed  out  and  borne  off  (in  many  cases  by  the 
wives  and  sisters  of  the  rioters)  to  add  to  the  com 
fort  of  their  own  homes.  Several  tenement-houses 
that  were  occupied  by  negroes  were  attacked  by 
the  mob  with  a  determination  to  destroy,  and  were 
with  difficulty  protected  by  the  police. 

The  office  of  the  "Tribune"  was  especially  ob 
noxious  to  the  rioters,  because  that  paper  was  fore- 


1863.]  THE    RIOTS    IN    NEW    YORK.  303 

most  in  support  of  the  Administration  and  the 
war.  Crowds  approached  it,  singing 

"  We'll  hang  old  Greeley  on  a  sour-apple-tree," 

and  at  one  time  its  counting-room  was  entered  by 
the  mob  and  a  fire  was  kindled  ;  but  the  police 
drove  them  out  and  quickly  extinguished  the 
flames.  The  printers  were  then  supplied  with  a 
quantity  of  muskets  and  bomb-shells,  and  long 
board  troughs  were  run  out  at  the  windows  ;  so 
that  in  case  of  an  attack  a  shell  could  be  lighted 
and  rolled  out,  dropping  from  the  end  of  the 
trough  into  the  crowd,  where  its  explosion  would 
produce  incalculable  havoc.  Happily  the  ominous 
troughs  proved  a  sufficient  warning. 

A  small  military  force  was  brought  to  the  aid  of 
the  police  ;  and  whenever  an  outbreak  was  reported, 
a  strong  body  was  sent  at  once  to  the  spot.  The 
locust  clubs,  when  wielded  in  earnest,  proved  a 
terrible  weapon,  descending  upon  the  heads  of 
rioters  with  blows  that  generally  cracked  the  skull. 
A  surgeon  who  attended  twenty-one  men  reported 
that  they  were  all  wounded  in  the  head,  and  all 
past  recovery.  One  of  the  most  fearful  scenes 
was  in  Second  Avenue,  where  the  police  and  the 
soldiers  were  assailed  with  stones  and  pistol-shots 
from  the  windows  and  the  roofs.  Dividing  into 
squads,  they  entered  the  houses,  which,  amid  the 
cries  and  curses  of  the  women,  they  searched  from 
bottom  to  top.  They  seized  their  cowering  assail 
ants  in  the  halls,  in  the  dark  bedrooms,  wherever 
they  were  hiding,  felled  them,  bayoneted  them, 
hurled  them  over  the  balusters  and  through  the 


304  THE    RIOTS    IN    NEW    YORK.  [1863. 

windows,  pursued  them  to  the  roof,  shot  them  as 
they  dodged  behind  chimneys,  refusing  all  mercy, 
and  threw  the  quivering  corpses  into  the  street  as 
a  warning  to  the  mob.  It  was  like  a  realization  of 
the  imaginary  taking  of  Torquilstone. 

One  of  the  saddest  incidents  of  the  riot  was  the 
murder  of  Colonel  Henry  J.  O'Brien,  of  the  nth 
New  York  Volunteers,  whose  men  had  dispersed 
one  mob  with  a  deadly  volley.  An  hour  or  two 
later  the  Colonel  returned  to  the  spot  alone,  when 
he  was  set  upon  and  beaten  and  mangled  and  tor 
tured  horribly  for  several  hours,  being  at  last  killed 
by  some  frenzied  women.  Page  after  page  might 
be  filled  with  such  incidents.  At  one  time  Broad 
way  was  strewn  with  dead  men  from  Bond  street 
to  Union  Square.  A  very  young  man,  dressed  in 
the  working-clothes  of  a  mechanic,  was  observed 
to  be  active  and  daring  in  leading  a  crowd  of  riot 
ers.  A  blow  from  a  club  at  length  brought  him 
down,  and  as  he  fell  he  was  impaled  on  the  picket 
of  an  iron  fence,  which  caught  him  under  the  chin 
and  killed  him.  On  examination,  it  was  found 
that  under  the  greasy  overalls  he  wore  a  costly 
and  fashionable  suit,  and  there  were  other  indica 
tions  of  wealth  and  refinement ;  but  the  body  was 
never  identified. 

Three  days  of  this  vigorous  work  by  the  police 
and  the  soldiers  brought  the  disturbance  to 
an  end.  About  fifty  policemen  had  been  injured, 
three  of  whom  died  ;  and  the  whole  number  of 
lives  destroyed  by  the  rioters  was  eighteen.  The 
exact  number  of  rioters  killed  is  unknown,  but  it 


1863.]  THE    RIOTS    IN    NEW    YORK.  395 

was  more  than  twelve  hundred.  The  mobs  burned 
about  fifty  buildings,  destroying  altogether  between 
two  million  and  three  million  dollars'  worth  of 
property.  Governor  Seymour  incurred  odium  by 
a  speech  to  the  rioters,  in  which  he  addressed  them 
as  his  friends,  and  promised  to  have  the  draft 
stopped  ;  and  by  his  communications  to  the  Presi 
dent,  in  which  he  complained  of  the  draft,  and 
asked  to  have  it  suspended  till  the  question  of  its 
constitutionality  could  be  tested  in  the  courts. 
His  opponents  interpreted  this  as  a  subterfuge  to 
favor  the  rebellion  by  preventing  the  reenforce- 
ment  of  the  National  armies.  The  President 
answered,  in  substance,  that  he  had  no  objection  to 
a  testing  of  the  question,  but  he  would  not  imperil 
the  country  by  suspending  operations  till  a  case 
could  be  dragged  through  the  courts. 

Fourteen  of  the  Northern  States  had  enacted 
laws  enabling  the  soldiers  to  vote  without  going 
home.  In  some  of  the  States  it  was  provided  that 
commissioners  should  go  to  the  camps  and  take 
the  votes  ;  in  others  the  soldier  was  authorized 
to  seal  up  his  ballot  and  send  it  home  to  his  next 
friend,  who  was  to  present  it  at  the  polls  and  make 
oath  that  it  was  the  identical  one  sent  to  him. 
The  enactment  of  such  laws  had  been  strenuously 
opposed  by  the  Democrats,  on  several  grounds, 
the  most  plausible  of  which  was,  that  men  under 
military  discipline  were  not  practically  free  to  vote 
as  they  pleased.  The  most  curious  argument  was 
to  this  effect:  A  soldier  that  sends  home  his  ballot 
may  be  killed  in  battle  before  that  ballot  reaches 


306  THE    RIOTS    IN    NEW    YORK.  [1863. 

its  destination  and  is  counted.     Do  you  want  dead 
men  to  decide  your  elections  ? 

These  were  the  darkest  days  of  the  war  ;  but  the 
riots  reacted  upon  the  party  that  was  supposed  to 
favor  them,  the  people  gradually  learned  the  full 
significance  of  Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg,  and  at 
the  autumn  election  the  State  of  New  York,  which 
a  year  before  had  elected  Governor  Seymour,  gave 
a  handsome  majority  in  favor  of  the  Administra 
tion.  In  Ohio,  where  the  Democrats  had  nominated 
Vallandigham  for  Governor,  and  made  a  noisy  and 
apparently  vigorous  canvass,  the  Republicans 
nominated  John  Brough.  When  the  votes  were 
counted,  it  was  found  that  Mr.  Brough  had  a 
majority  of  one  hundred  thousand,  the  largest  that 
had  ever  been  given  for  any  candidate  in  any 
State  where  there  was  a  contest.  Politically  speak 
ing,  this  buried  Mr.  Vallandigham  out  of  sight 
forever,  and  delivered  a  heavy  blow  at  the  ob 
structive  policy  of  his  party. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   SIEGE   OF   CHARLESTON. 

As  Charleston  was  the  cradle  of  secession,  there 
was  a  special  desire  on  the  part  of  the  Northern 
people  that  it  should  undergo  the  heaviest  penalties 
of  war.  They  wanted  poetic  vengeance  to  fall 
upon  the  very  men  that  had  taught  disunion,  fired 
upon  Sumter,  and  kindled  the  flames  of  civil 
strife.  And  there  were  not  a  few  at  the  South 
who  shared  this  sentiment,  believing  that  they  had 
been  dragged  into  ruin  by  the  politicians  of  South 
Carolina.  Many  would  have  been  glad  if  the  whole 
State  could  have  been  pried  off  from  the  rest  of 
the  Union  and  slidden  into  the  depths  of  the  sea. 
But  there  was  a  better  than  sentimental  reason  for 
directing  vigorous  operations  against  Charleston. 
Its  port  was  exceedingly  useful  to  the  Confeder 
ates  for  shipping  their  cotton  to  Europe  and  re 
ceiving  in  return  the  army  clothing,  rifles,  and 
ammunition  that  were  produced  for  them  by  En 
glish  looms  and  arsenals.  Early  in  the  war  the  Gov 
ernment  attempted  to  close  this  port  with  obstruc 
tions.  Several  old  whale-ships  were  loaded 
with  stone,  towed  into  the  channel,  and  sunk,  at 
which  there  was  a  great  outcry,  and  the  books 
were  searched  to  see  whether  this  barbarous  pro 
ceeding,  as  it  was  called,  was  permissible  under  the 


308  BLOCKADE    OF   CHARLESTON    HARBOR.  [1863. 

laws  of  war  and  of  nations.  In  1854  the  harbor 
of  Sebastopol  had  been  obstructed  in  the  same 
way ;  but  that  was  done  by  the  Russians,  whose 
harbor  it  was,  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  coming 
in.  The  strong  currents  at  Charleston  soon  swept 
away  the  old  hulks  or  buried  them  in  the  sand, 
and  a  dozen  war-vessels  had  to  be  sent  there  to 
maintain  the  blockade.  This  was  an  exceedingly 
difficult  task.  The  main  channel  ran  for  a  long  dis 
tance  near  the  shore  of  Morris  Island,  and  was  pro 
tected  by  batteries.  The  westward-bound  blockade- 
runners  commonly  went  first  to  the  British  port  of 
Nassau,  in  the  West  Indies,  and  thence  with  a 
pilot  sailed  for  Charleston.  After  the  main  chan 
nel  had  been  closed  in  consequence  of  the  occupa 
tion  of  Morris  Island  by  National  troops,  steamers 
of  very  light  draft,  built  in  England  for  this  spe 
cial  service,  slipped  in  by  the  shallower  passes.  A 
great  many  were  captured  —  for  theblockaders  de 
veloped  remarkable  skill  in  detecting  their  move 
ments  —  but  the  practice  was  never  wholly  broken 
up  till  the  city  was  occupied  by  the  National  forces 
in  February,  1865. 

In  January,  1863,  two  Confederate  iron-clads 
steamed  out  of  the  harbor,  on  a  hazy  morning,  and 
attacked  the  blockading  fleet.  Two  vessels,  by 
shots  through  their  steam-drums,  were  disabled, 
and  struck  their  colors ;  but  the  remainder  of  the 
fleet  came  to  their  assistance,  and  the  iron 
clads  were  driven  back  into  the  harbor,  leaving 
their  prizes  behind.  General  Beauregard  and 
Captain  Ingraham  (commanding  the  military  and 


1863.]  DU    FONTS   ATTACK.  309 

naval  forces  of  the  Confederacy  at  Charleston) 
formally  proclaimed  this  affair  a  victory  that  had 
"  sunk,  dispersed,  and  driven  off  or  out  of  sight  the 
entire  blockading  fleet,"  and  consequently  raised 
the  blockade  of  the  port.  These  assertions,  re 
peated  in  foreign  newspapers,  threatened  fora  time 
to  create  serious  complications  with  European 
powers,  by  raising  the  question  whether  the  block 
ade  (supposed  to  be  thus  broken)  must  not  be  re- 
proclaimed,  and  notice  given  to  masters  of  mer 
chant  vessels,  before  it  could  be  reestablished. 
But  the  falsity  of  the  claim  was  soon  shown,  and 
no  foreign  vessels  accepted  the  invitation  to  de 
mand  free  passage  into  the  port  of  Charleston. 

This  affair  increased  the  desire  to  capture  the 
port,  put  an  absolute  end  to  the  blockade-running 
there,  and  use  it  as  a  harbor  of  refuge  for 
National  vessels.  Accordingly  a  powerful  fleet 
was  fitted  out  for  the  purpose,  and  placed  under 
the  command  of  Rear-Admiral  S.  F.  Du  Pont,  who 
had  reduced  the  forts  of  Port  Royal  in  November, 
1861.  It  consisted  of  seven  monitors,  an  iron-clad 
frigate,  an  iron-clad  ram,  and  several  wooden  gun 
boats.  On  the  7th  of  April,  1863,  favored  by 
smooth  water,  Du  Pont  steamed  in  to  attack  the 
forts.  But  most  extraordinary  precautions  had 
been  taken  to  defend  the  city.  The  special  desire 
of  the  Northern  people  to  capture  it  was  offset  by 
an  equally  romantic  determination  on  the  part  of 
the  secessionists  not  to  part  with  the  cradle  in 
which  their  pet  theory  had  been  rocked  for  thirty 
years.  Besides  the  batteries  that  had  been  erected 


3IO  DU    FONTS    DEFEAT.  [1863. 

for  the  reduction  of  Fort  Sumter,  they  had  estab 
lished  others,  and  they  occupied  that  fort  itself. 
All  these  works  had  been  strengthened,  and  new 
guns  mounted,  including  some  specially  powerful 
ones  of  English  manufacture.  All  ithe  channels 
were  obstructed  with  piles  and  chains,  with  innu 
merable  torpedoes,  some  of  which  were  to  be  fired 
by  electric  wires  from  the  forts,  while  others,  were 
arranged  to  explode  whenever  a  vessel  should  run 
against  them.  The  main  channel,  between  Fort 
Moultrie  and  Fort  Sumter,  was  crossed  by  a  heavy 
cable  supported  on  empty  barrels,  with  which  was 
connected  a  network  of  smaller  chains.  In  the 
south  channel  there  was  a  tempting  opening  in  the 
row  of  piles  ;  but  beneath  this  were  some  tons  of 
powder  waiting  for  the  electric  spark. 

The  monitor  "  Weehawken  "  led  the  way,  push 
ing  a  raft  before  her  to  explode  the  torpedoes. 
Not  a  man  was  to  be  seen  on  any  of  the  decks, 
and  the  forts  were  ominously  silent.  But  when 
the  "  Weehawken  "  had  reached  the  network  of 
chains,  and  had  become  somewhat  entangled 
therein  with  her  raft,  the  batteries  opened  all 
around,  and  she  and  the  other  monitors  that  came 
to  her  assistance  were  the  target  for  a  terrible  con 
centric  fire  of  bursting  shells  and  solid  bolts.  The 
return  fire  was  directed  principally  upon  Sumter, 
and  was  kept  up  steadily  for  half  an  hour,  but 
seemed  to  have  little  effect ;  and  after  trying 
both  the  main  and  the  south  channel,  the  fleet 
retired.  The  monitor  "  Keokuk,"  which  had  made 
the  nearest  approach  to  the  enemy,  was  struck 


1863.]  CAPTURE    OF    THE    ATLANTA.  3!  I 

nearly  a  hundred  times.  Shots  passed  through 
both  of  her  turrets,  and  there  were  nineteen  holes 
in  her  hull.  That  evening  she  sank  in  an  inlet. 
Most  of  the  other  vessels  were  injured,  and  some 
of  the  monitors  were  unable  to  revolve  their  tur 
rets  because  of  the  bending  of  the  plates. 

Du  Font's  defeat  was  offset  two  months  later, 
when  the  Confederate  iron-clad  "  Atlanta"  started 
out  on  her  first  cruise.  She  was  originally  an 
English  blockade-runner,  and  as  she  was  unable 
to  get  out  of  the  port  of  Savannah  after  the  fall  of 
Fort  Pulaski,  the  Confederates  conceived  the  idea 
of  iron-plating  her  after  the  fashion  of  the  "  Mer- 
rimac,"  and  sending  her  out  to  sink  the  monitors 
and  raise  the  blockade  of  Charleston.  It  was  said 
that  the  ladies  of  Savannah  contributed  their  jewel 
ry  to  pay  the  expenses  ;  and  after  fourteen  months 
of  hard  labor  she  was  ready  for  action.  But  Du 
Pont  had  heard  the  story,  and  sent  two  monitors 
to  watch  her.  On  the  i7th  of  June,  early  in  the 
morning,  she  dropped  down  the  channel,  followed 
by  two  steamers  loaded  with  citizens,  including 
many  ladies,  who  anticipated  a  great  deal  of  pleas 
ure  in  seeing  their  powerful  iron-clad  sink  the  mon 
itors.  These  came  up  to  meet  her,  the  "  Wee- 
hawken,"  Captain  Rodgers,  taking  the  lead. 
Rodgers  fired  just  five  shots,  from  his  enormous 
eleven-inch  and  fifteen-inch  guns.  One  struck  the 
shutter  of  a  porthole  and  broke  it,  another  knocked 
off  the  "Atlanta's"  pilot-house,  another  struck  the 
edge  of  the  deck  and  opened  the  seams  between 
the  plates,  and  another  penetrated  the  iron  armor, 


312  GILLMORES    SIEGE.  [1863. 

splintered  the  heavy  wooden  backing,  and  disabled 
forty  men.  Thereupon  the  "  Atlanta  "  hung  out 
a  white  flag  and  surrendered,  while  the  pleasure- 
seekers  hastened  back  to  Savannah.  It  is  said  that 
the  vessel  might  have  been  handled  better  if  she 
had  not  run  aground.  She  was  carrying  an  im 
mense  torpedo  at  the  end  of  a  boom  thirty  feet 
long,  which  projected  from  her  bow  under  water. 
She  was  found  to  be  provisioned  for  a  long  cruise, 
and  was  taken  to  Philadelphia  and  exhibited  there 
as  a  curiosity. 

The  city  of  Charleston,  between  its  two  rivers, 
with  its  well-fortified  harbor,  bordered  by  miles  of 
swampy  land,  was  exceedingly  difficult  for  an  en 
emy  to  reach.  General  Quincy  A.  Gillmore, 
being  sent  with  a  large  force  to  take  it,  chose  the 
approach  by  way  of  Folly  and  Morris  islands, 
where  the  monitors  could  assist  him.  Hidden  by 
a  fringe  of.  trees,  he  first  erected  powerful  batteries 
on  Folly  Island.  On  the  northernmost  point  of 
Morris  Island  (Cummings  Point)  was  the  Confed 
erate  battery  Gregg,  the  one  that  had  done  most 
damage  to  Sumter  at  the  opening  of  the  war. 
South  of  this  was  Fort  Wagner,  and  still  farther 
south  were  other  works.  On  the  morning  of  July 
loth,  Gillmore  suddenly  cut  down  the  trees  in  his 
front  and  opened  fire  upon  the  most  southerly 
works  on  Morris  Island,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  fleet  commandecl  by  Admiral  Dahlgren,  who 
had  succeeded  Du  Pont,  bombarded  Fort  Wagner. 
Under  cover  of  this  fire,  troops  were  landed,  and 
the  earthworks  were  quickly  taken. 


1863.] 


ASSAULT   ON    FORT   WAGNER. 


313 


The  day  being  terribly  hot,  the  advance  on  Fort 
Wagner  was  postponed  till  the  next  morning,  and 
then  it  was  a  failure.  A  week  later  a  determined 
assault  was  made 
with  a  force  of  six 
thousand  men,  the 
advance  being  led 
by  the  first  regiment 
of  colored  troops 
(the  54th  Massa 
chusetts)  that  had 
been  raised  under 
the  authorization 
that  accompanied 
the  Emancipation 
Proclamation. 
They  marched  out 
under  a  concentra 
ted  fire  from  all  the 
Confederate  bat 
teries,  then  met 
sheets  of  musketry 
fire  that  blazed  out 
from  Wagner,  then 
crossed  the  ditch 
waist-deep  in  wat 
er,  while  hand-gre 
nades  were  thrown  from  the  parapet  to  explode 
among  them,  and  even  climbed  up  to  the  rampart. 
But  here  the  surviving  remnant  met  a  stout  resist 
ance  and  were  hurled  back.  General  Strong, 
Colonel  Chatfield,  Colonel  Putnam,  and  Robert 


314  THE    PARALLELS.  [1863. 

G.  Shaw,  the  young  commander  of  the  black  regi 
ment,  were  all  killed,  and  a  total  loss  was  sustained 
of  fifteen  hundred  men,  while  the  Confederates 
lost  but  about  one  hundred. 

In  burying  the  dead,  the  Confederates  threw  the 
body  of  Colonel  Shaw  into  the  bottom  of  a  trench, 
and  heaped  upon  it  the  bodies  of  black  soldiers, 
whose  valor,  no  less  than  their  color,  had  produced 
an  uncontrollable  frenzy  in  the  Confederate  mind. 
When  it  was  inquired  for,  under  flag  of  truce,  word 
was  sent  back  :  "  We  have  buried  him  with  his 
niggers."  Those  who  thus  tried  to  cast  contempt 
upon  the  boyish  colonel  were  apparently  not  aware 
that  he  was  braver  than  any  of  his  foes.  In  ad 
vancing  along  that  narrow  strip  of  land,  every  foot 
of  which  was  swept  by  a  deadly  fire,  crossing  the 
ditch,  and  mounting  the  parapet,  Colonel  Shaw 
exhibited  a  physical  courage  that  it  was  impos 
sible  to  surpass ;  while  in  organizing  and  leading 
men  of  the  despised  race  that  was  now  struggling 
toward  liberty,  he  showed  a  moral  courage  such  as 
the  rebels  neither  shared  nor  comprehended. 

General  Gillmore  now  resorted  to  regular  ap 
proaches  for  the  reduction  of  Fort  Wagner.  The 
first  parallel  was  soon  opened,  and  siege  guns 
mounted,  and  the  work  was  pushed  as  rapidly  as 
the  unfavorable  nature  of  the  ground  would  admit. 
By  the  23d  of  July  a  second  parallel  was  estab 
lished,  from  which  fire  was  opened  upon  Fort 
Sumter,  two  miles  distant,  and  upon  the  interven 
ing  earthworks.  As  the  task  proceeded  the  diffi 
culty  increased,  for  the  strip  of  land  grew  narrower 


1863.]  CAPTURE   OF   FORT   WAGNER.  315 

as  Fort  Wagner  was  approached,  and  the  men  in  the 
trenches  were  subjected  to  cross-fire  from  a  battery 
on  James  Island,  as  well  as  from  sharpshooters 
and  from  the  fort  itself.  A  dozen  breaching  batter 
ies  of  enormous  rifled  guns  were  established,  most 
of  the  work  being  done  at  night,  and  on  the  i7th 
of  August  all  of  them  opened  fire.  The  shot  and 
shell  were  directed  mainly  against  Fort  Sumter, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  week  its  barbette  guns  were 
dismounted,  its  walls  were  knocked  into  a  shape 
less  mass  of  ruins,  and  its  value  as  anything  but  a 
rude  shelter  for  infantry  was  gone. 

The  parallels  were  still  pushed  forward  toward 
Wagner,  partly  through  ground  so  low  that  high 
tides  washed  over  it,  and  finally  where  mines  of 
torpedoes  had  been  planted.  When  they  had  ar 
rived  so  near  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  men  to 
work  under  ordinary  circumstances,  the  fort  was 
subjected  to  a  bombardment  with  shells  fired  from 
mortars  and  dropping  into  it  almost  vertically, 
while  the  great  rifled  guns  were  trained  upon  its 
bomb-proof  at  short  range,  and  the  iron-clad  frigate 
"New  Ironsides"  came  close  in  shore  and  added 
her  quota  in  the  shape  of  eleven-inch  shells  fired 
from  eight  broadside  guns.  Powerful  calcium 
lights  had  been  prepared,  so  that  there  was  no 
night  there,  and  the  bombardment  went  on  inces 
santly.  At  the  end  of  two  days,  three  columns  of 
infantry  were  ready  to  storm  the  work,  when  it 
was  discovered  that  the  Confederates  had  suddenly 
abandoned  it.  Battery  Gregg,  on  Cummings  Point, 
was  also  evacuated.  The  next  night  a  few  hundred 


316  THE  SWAMP   ANGEL.  [1863. 

sailors  from  the  fleet  went  to  Fort  Sumter  in  row- 
boats  and  attempted  its  capture.  But  they  found 
it  exceedingly  difficult  to  climb  up  the  ruined  wall ; 
most  of  their  boats  were  knocked  to  pieces  by  the 
Confederate  batteries,  they  met  an  unexpected  fire 
of  musketry  and  hand-grenades,  and  two  hundred 
of  them  were  disabled  or  captured. 

While  all  this  work  was  going  on,  General  Gill- 
more  thought  to  establish  a  battery  near  enough 
to  Charleston  to  subject  the  city  itself  to  bombard 
ment.  A  site  was  chosen  on  the  western  side  of 
Morris  Island,  and  the  necessary  orders  were 
issued.  But  the  ground  was  soft  mud,  sixteen  feet 
deep,  and  it  seemed  an  impossible  task.  The  cap 
tain  to  whom  it  was  assigned  was  told  that  he  must 
not  fail,  buthe  might  ask  for  whatever  he  needed; 
whereupon  he  made  out  a  formal  requisition  for 
"  a  hundred  men  eighteen  feet  high,"  and  other 
things  in  proportion.  Piles  were  driven,  a  plat 
form  was  laid  upon  them,  and  a  parapet  was  built 
with  bags  of  sand,  fifteen  thousand  being  required 
—  all  of  which  had  to  be  done  after  dark,  and  occu 
pied  fourteen  nights.  Then,  with  great  labor,  an 
eight-inch  rifled  gun  was  dragged  across  the  swamp 
and  mounted  on  this  platform.  It  was  nearly  five 
miles  distant  from  Charleston,  but  being  fired  at 
a  high  elevation  was  able  to  reach  the  lower  part 
of  the  city.  The  soldiers  named  this  gun  the 
"  Swamp  Angel."  Late  in  August  it  was  ready 
for  work,  and,  after  giving  notice  for  the  removal 
of  non-combatants,  General  Gillmore  opened  fire. 
A  few  shells  fell  in  the  streets  and  produced  great 


1863.]  BOMBARDMENT    OF    CHARLESTON.  317 

consternation,  but  at  the  thirty-sixth  discharge  the 
Swamp  Angel  burst,  and  it  was  never  replaced. 

Gillmore  had  supposed  that  when  Sumter  was 
silenced  the  fleet  would  enter  the  harbor,  but  Ad 
miral  Dahlgren  did  not  think  it  wise  to  risk  his 
vessels  among  the  torpedoes,  especially  as  the 
batteries  of  the  inner  harbor  had  been  greatly 
strengthened,  and  would  still  remain  to  be  reduced 
if  he  had  passed  the  obstructions  in  safety.  As 
Fort  Wagner  and  Battery  Gregg  were  nearer  the 
city  by  a  mile  than  the  Swamp  Angel,  Gillmore 
repaired  them,  turned  their  guns  upon  Charleston, 
and  kept  up  a  destructive  bombardment  for  weeks. 

As  a  protection  to  the  city,  under  the  plea  that 
its  bombardment  was  a  violation  of  the  rules  of 
war,  the  Confederate  authorities  selected  from 
their  prisoners  fifty  officers  and  placed  them  in 
the  district  reached  by  the  shells.  Captain  Wil- 
lard  Glazier,  who  was  there,  writes  :  "  When  the 
distant  rumbling  of  the  Swamp  Angel  was  heard, 
and  the  cry  '  Here  it  comes  ! '  resounded  through 
our  prison-house,  there  was  a  general  stir.  Sleep 
ers  sprang  to  their  feet,  the  gloomy  forgot  their 
sorrows,  conversation  was  hushed,  and  all  started 
to  see  where  the  messenger  would  fall.  At  night 
we  traced  along  the  sky  a  slight  stream  of  fire, 
similar  to  the  tail  of  a  comet,  and  followed  its 
course  until  '  whiz  !  whiz  ! '  came  the  little  pieces 
from  our  mighty  two-hundred-pounder,  scattering 
themselves  all  around."  By  placing  an  equal  num 
ber  of  Confederate  officers  under  fire,  the  Govern 
ment  compelled  the  removal  of  its  own. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE   CHATTANOOGA   CAMPAIGN. 

WHILE  Grant's  army  was  pounding  at  the  gates  of 
Vicksburg,  those  of  Rosecrans  and  Bragg  were 
watching  each  other  at  Murfreesboro,  both  com 
manders  being  unwilling  to  make  any  grand  move 
ment.  General  Grant  and  the  Secretary  of  War 
wanted  Rosecrans  to  advance  upon  Bragg,  lest 
Bragg  should  reenforce  Johnston,  who  was  a  con 
stant  menace  in  the  rear  of  the  army  besieging 
Vicksburg.  The  only  thing  Grant  feared  was, 
that  he  might  be  attacked  heavily  by  Johnston 
before  he  could  capture  the  place.  But  Rosecrans 
refused  to  move,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  against 
the  principles  of  military  science  to  fight  two  de 
cisive  battles  at  once,  and  that  the  surest  method 
of  holding  back  Bragg  from  reenforcing  Johnston 
was  by  constantly  standing  ready  to  attack  him, 
but  not  attacking.  As  it  happened  that  Bragg 
was  very  much  like  Rosecrans,  and  was  afraid  to 
stir  lest  Rosecrans  should  go  to  Grant's  assistance, 
the  policy  of  quiet  watchfulness  proved  successful 
-  so  far  at  least  as  immediate  results  were  con 
cerned.  Bragg  did  not  reenforce  Johnston,  John 
ston  did  not  attack  Grant  ;  and  besiegers  and  be 
sieged  were  left,  like  two  brawny  champions  of  two 
great  armies,  to  fight  it  out,  dig  it  out,  and  starve 


1863.]  MINOR   ENGAGEMENTS.  319 

it  out,  till  on  the  4th  of  July  the  city  fell.  Whether 
it  afterward  fared  as  well  with  Rosecrans  as  it 
might  if  he  had  attacked  Bragg  when  Grant  and 
Stanton  wanted  him  to,  is  another  question. 

But  though  the  greater  armies  were  quiescent, 
both  sent  out  detachments  to  make  destructive 
raids,  and  that  season  witnessed  some  of  the  most 
notable  exploits  of  the  guerilla  bands  that  were 
operating  in  the  West,  all  through  the  war,  in  aid 
of  the  Confederacy.  Late  in  January,  1863,  a 
Confederate  force  of  cavalry  and  artillery,  about 
four  thousand  men,  under  Wheeler  and  Forrest, 
was  sent  to  capture  Dover,  contiguous  to  the  site 
of  Fort  Donelson,  in  order  to  close  the  navigation 
of  Cumberland  River,  by  which  Rosecrans  re 
ceived  supplies.  The  place  was  held  by  six  hun 
dred  men,  under  command  of  Colonel  A.  C.  Hard 
ing,  of  the  83d  Illinois  regiment,  who  with  the  help 
of  gunboats  repelled  two  determined  attempts  to 
storm  the  works  (February  3),  and  inflicted  a  loss 
of  seven  hundred  men,  their  own  loss  being  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six. 

Early  in  March  a  detachment  of  about  twenty- 
five  hundred  National  troops,  under  Colonels  Co- 
burn  and  Jordan,  moving  south  of  Franklin,  Tenn., 
unexpectedly  met  a  force  of  about  ten  thousand 
Confederates  under  Van  Dorn,  and  the  stubborn 
fight  that  ensued  resulted  in  the  surrounding  and 
capture  of  Coburn's  entire  force,  after  nearly  two 
hundred  had  been  killed  or  wounded  on  each  side. 
A  few  days  later,  Van  Dorn  was  attacked  and 
driven  southward  by  a  force  under  General 


32O  MINOR    ENGAGEMENTS.  [1863. 

Gordon  Granger.  Still  later  in  the  month  a  de 
tachment  of  about  fourteen  hundred  men  under 
Colonel  Hall  went  in  pursuit  of  the  guerilla  band 
commanded  by  John  Morgan,  fought  it  near  Mil 
ton,  and  defeated  it,  inflicting  a  loss  of  nearly  four 
hundred  men.  Early  in  April,  another  detach 
ment  of  National  troops,  commanded  by  General 
David  S.  Stanley,  found  Morgan's  men  at  Snow 
Hill,  and  defeated  and  routed  them  so  thoroughly 
that  it  was  two  weeks  before  the  remnants  of  the 
band  could  be  brought  together  again. 

In  that  same  month,  Colonel  A.  D.  Streight, 
with  eighteen  hundred  men,  was  sent  to  make  a 
raid  around  Bragg's  army,  cut  his  communications, 
and  destroy  supplies.  This  detachment  was  pur 
sued  by  Forrest,  who  attacked  the  rearguard  at 
Day's  Gap,  but  was  repelled,  and  lost  ten  guns  and 
a  considerable  number  of  men.  Streight  kept  on 
his  way,  with  continual  skirmishing,  destroyed  a 
depot  of  provisions  at  Gadsden,  had  another  fight 
at  Blount's  Farm,  in  which  he  drove  off  Forrest 
again,  and  burned  the  Round  Mountain  Iron 
Works,  which  supplied  shot  and  shell  to  the  Con 
federates.  But  on  the  3d  of  May  he  was  con 
fronted  by  so  large  a  force  that  he  was  compelled 
to  surrender,  his  men  and  horses  being  too  jaded 
to  attempt  escape. 

These  are  but  examples  of  hundreds  of  engage 
ments  that  took  place  during  the  War  of  Seces 
sion  and  are  scarcely  known  to  the  general  reader 
because  their  fame  is  overshadowed  by  the  magni 
tude  of  the  great  battles.  Had  they  occurred  in 


MORGAN  S    RAID.  321 

any  of  our  previous  wars,  every  school-boy  would 
know  about  them.  In  Washington's  celebrated 
victory  at  Trenton,  the  number  of  Hessians  sur 
rendered  was  fewer  than  Streight's  command  cap 
tured  by  Forrest ;  and  in  the  bloodiest  battle  of 
the  Mexican  war,  Buena  Vista,  the  American  loss 
(then  considered  heavy)  was  but  little  greater 
than  the  Confederate  loss  in  the  action  at  Dover, 
related  above.  The  armies  surrendered  by  Bur- 
goyne  and  Cornwallis,  if  combined,  would  consti 
tute  a  smaller  force  than  the  least  of  the  three 
that  surrendered  to  Grant. 

One  of  these  affairs  in  the  West,  however,  was 
so  bold  and  startling  that  it  became  famous  even 
among  the  greater  and  more  important  events. 
This  was  Morgan's  raid  across  the  Ohio.  In  July 
he  entered  Kentucky  from  the  south,  with  a  force 
of  three  thousand  cavalrymen,  increased  as  it  went 
by  accessions  of  Kentucky  sympathizers  to  about 
four  thousand,  with  ten  guns.  He  captured  and 
robbed  the  towns  of  Columbia  and  Lebanon, 
reached  the  Ohio,  captured  two  steamers,  and 
crossed  into  Indiana.  Then  marching  rapidly  to 
ward  Cincinnati,  he  burned  mills  and  bridges,  tore 
up  rails,  plundered  right  and  left,  and  spread 
alarm  on  every  side.  But  the  Home  Guards  were 
gathering  to  meet  him,  and  the  great  number  of 
railways  in  Ohio  and  Indiana  favored  their  rapid 
concentration,  while  farmers  felled  trees  across 
the  roads  on  hearing  of  his  approach.  He  passed 
around  Cincinnati,  and  after  much  delay  reached 
the  Ohio  at  Buffington's  Ford.  Here  some  of  his 


322  ROSECRANS   CROWDING   BRAGG.  [1863. 

pursuers  overtook  him,  while  gunboats  and  steam 
boats  filled  with  armed  men  were  patrolling  the 
river,  on  the  watch  for  him.  The  gunboats  pre 
vented  him  from  using  the  ford,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  turn  and  give  battle.  The  fight  was  se 
vere,  and  resulted  in  Morgan's  defeat.  Nearly 
eight  hundred  of  his  men  surrendered,  and  he 
with  the  remainder  retreated  up  the  river.  They 
next  tried  to  cross  at  Belleville  by  swimming  their 
horses  ;  but  the  gunboats  were  at  hand  again,  and 
made  such  havoc  among  the  troopers  that  only 
three  hundred  got  across,  while  of  the  others  some 
were  shot,  some  drowned,  and  the  remnant  driven 
back  to  the  Ohio  shore.  Morgan  with  two  hun 
dred  fled  still  farther  up  the  stream,  but  at  last 
was  compelled  to  surrender  at  New  Lisbon.  He 
was  confined  in  the  Ohio  Penitentiary,  but  escaped 
a  few  months  later  by  digging  under  the  walls.  A 
pathetic  incident  of  this  raid  was  the  death  of  the 
venerable  Daniel  McCook,  sixty-five  years  old. 
He  had  given  eight  sons  to  the  National  service, 
and  four  of  them  had  become  generals.  One  of 
these  was  deliberately  murdered  by  guerillas,  while 
he  was  ill  and  riding  in  an  ambulance  in  Tennes 
see.  The  old  man,  hearing  that  the  murderer  was 
in  Morgan's  band,  took  his  rifle,  and  went  out  to 
join  in  the  fight  at  Buffington's  Fcird,  where  he  was 
mortally  wounded. 

When  at  last  Rosecrans  did  move,  by  some  of 
the  ablest  strategy  displayed  in  the  whole  war  he 
compelled  Bragg  to  fall  back  successively  from 
one  position  to  another,  all  the  way  from  Tulla- 


1863.]  MANOEUVRING   FOR  CHATTANOOGA.  323 

homa  to  Chattanooga.  This  was  not  done  with 
out  frequent  and  heavy  skirmishes,  however,  but 
the  superiority  of  the  National  cavalry  had  now 
been  developed  at  the  West  as  well  as  at  the  East, 
and  they  all  resulted  in  one  way.  Colonel  (after 
ward  Senator)  John  F.  Miller  was  conspicuous  in 
several  of  these  actions,  and  in  that  at  Liberty 
Gap  one  of  his  eyes  was  shot  out  by  a  rifle-ball. 

The  purpose  of  Rosecrans  was  to  get  possession 
of  Chattanooga  ;  and  when  Bragg  crossed  the  Ten 
nessee  and  occupied  that  town  he  set  to  work  to 
manoeuvre  him  out  of  it.  To  effect  this,  he  moved 
southwest,  as  if  he  were  intending  to  pass  around 
Chattanooga  and  invade  Georgia.  This  caused 
Bragg  to  fall  back  to  Lafayette,  and  the  National 
troops  took  possession  of  Chattanooga.  But  at 
this  time  Rosecrans  was  for  a  while  in  a  critical 
situation,  where  a  more  skilful  general  than  Bragg 
would  probably  have  destroyed  him  ;  for  his  three 
corps  —  commanded  by  Thomas,  Crittenden,  and 
McCook  —  were  widely  separated.  The  later 
movements  of  this  campaign  had  been  rendered 
tediously  slow  by  the  heavy  rains  and  the  almost 
impassable  nature  of  the  ground  ;  so  that  although 
Rosecrans  had  set  out  from  Murfreesboro  in  June, 
it  was  now  the  middle  of  September. 

Supposing  that  Bragg  was  in  full  retreat,  Rose 
crans  began  to  follow  him  ;  but  Bragg  had 
received  large  reinforcements,  and  turned  back 
from  Lafayette,  intent  upon  attacking  Rosecrans. 
The  two  armies,  feeling  for  each  other  and  ap 
proaching  somewhat  cautiously  for  a  week,  met  at 


324 


BATTLE    OF   CHICKAMAUGA. 


[1863. 


last,  and    there   was    fought,  September   19  and 
20,  1863,  a  great  battle  on  the  banks  of  a  creek, 


whose  Indian    name   of  Chickamauga  is  said  to 
signify  "  River  of  Death." 

Rosecrans  had  about  fifty-five  thousand  men  ; 
Bragg,  after  the  arrival  of  Longstreet  at  midnight 
of  the  1 8th,  about  seventy  thousand.  The  gen- 


1863.]  BATTLE    OF   CHICK  AM  AUGA.  325 

eral  direction  of  the  lines  of  battle  was  with  the 
National  troops  facing  southeast,  and  the  Confed 
erates  facing  northwest,  though  these  lines  were 
variously  bent,  broken,  and  changed  in  the  course 
of  the  action.  Thomas  held  the  left  of  Rosecrans' 
line,  Crittenden  the  centre,  and  McCookthe  right. 
Bragg  was  the  attacking  party,  and  his  plan  was, 
while  making  a  feint  on  the  National  right,  to  fall 
heavily  upon  the  left,  flank  it,  crush  it,  and  seize  the 
roads  that  led  to  Chattanooga.  If  he  could  do  this, 
it  would  not  only  cut  off  Rosecrans  from  his  base 
and  insure  his  decisive  defeat,  but  would  give  Bragg 
possession  of  Chattanooga,  where  he  could  control 
the  river  and  the  passage  through  the  mountains 
between  the  East  and  the  West.  The  concentra 
tion  of  the  National  forces  in  the  valley  had  been 
witnessed  by  the  Confederates  from  the  mountain 
height  southeast  of  the  creek,  who  therefore  knew 
what  they  had  to  meet  and  how  it  was  disposed. 

The  battle  of  the  iQth  began  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon,  and  lasted  all  day.  The  Confederate 
army  crossed  the  creek  without  opposition,  and 
moved  forward  confidently  to  the  attack.  But  the 
left  of  the  position,  the  key-point,  was  held  by  the 
command  of  General  George  H.  Thomas,  who  for 
a  slow  and  stubborn  fight  was  perhaps  the  best 
corps  commander  produced  by  either  side  in  the 
whole  war.  Opposed  to  him,  on  the  Confederate 
right,  was  General  (also  Bishop)  Leonidas  Polk. 
There  was  less  of  concerted  action  in  the  attack 
than  Bragg  had  planned  for,  partly  because 
Thomas  unexpectedly  struck  out  with  a  counter- 


326  BATTLE    OF    CHICKAMAUGA.  [1863, 

movement  when  an  opportunity  offered  ;  but  there 
was  no  lack  of  bloody  and  persistent  fighting. 
Brigades  and  divisions  moved  forward  to  the 
charge,  were  driven  back,  and  charged  again. 
Batteries  were  taken  and  re-taken,  the  horses 
were  killed,  and  the  captains  and  gunners  in  some 
instances,  refusing  to  leave  them,  were  shot  down 
at  the  wheels.  Brigades  and  regiments  were  shat 
tered,  and  on  both  sides  many  prisoners  were  taken. 
Thomas's  line  was  forced  back,  but  before  night  he 
regained  his  first  position,  and  the  day  closed  with 
the  situation  practically  unchanged. 

During  the  night  both  sides  corrected  their 
lines  and  made  what  preparation  they  could  for  a 
renewal  of  the  struggle.  Bragg  intended  to  attack 
again  at  daybreak,  his  plan  (now  perfectly  evident 
to  his  opponent)  being  substantially  the  same  as 
on  the  day  before.  He  wanted  to  crush  the  Na 
tional  left,  force  back  the  centre,  and  make  a  grand 
left  wheel  with  his  entire  army,  placing  his  right 
firmly  across  the  path  to  Chattanooga.  But 
the  morning  was  foggy,  Polk  was  slow,  and  the 
fighting  did  not  begin  till  the  middle  of  the  fore 
noon.  Between  Polk  and  Thomas  the  edge  of 
battle  swayed  back  and  forth,  and  the  Confederates 
could  make  no  permanent  impression.  Thomas 
was  obliged  to  call  repeatedly  for  reinforcements, 
which  sometimes  reached  him  and  sometimes 
failed  to,  but  whether  they  came  or  not,  he  held 
manfully  to  all  the  essential  portions  of  his  ground. 

Rosecrans  was  constantly  uneasy  about  his 
right  centre,  where  he  knew  the  line  to  be  weak ; 


1863.1  BATTLE    OF   CHICKAMAUGA.  327 

and  at  this  point  the  great  disaster  of  the  day 
began,  though  in  an  unexpected  manner.  It  arose 
from  an  order  that  was  both  mis-written  and  mis 
interpreted.  This  order,  addressed  to  General 
Thomas  J.  Wood,  who  commanded  a  division,  was 
written  by  a  member  of  Rosecrans'  staff  who  had 
not  had  a  military  education,  and  was  not  suffi 
ciently  impressed  with  the  exact  meaning  of  the 
technical  terms.  It  read:  "The  General  com 
manding  directs  that  you  close  up  on  Reynolds  as 
fast  as  possible,  and  support  him."  It  was  impos 
sible  to  obey  both  clauses  of  this  order  ;  since  to 
"  close  up"  means  to  bring  the  ends  of  the  lines 
together  so  that  there  shall  be  no  gap  and  they 
shall  form  one  continuous  line,  while  to  "  support," 
in  the  technical  military  sense,  means  to  take  a 
position  in  the  rear,  ready  to  advance  when  or 
dered.  The  aide  that  wrote  the  order  evidently 
used  the  word  "  support  "  only  in  the  general  sense 
of  assist,  strengthen,  protect,  encourage,  and  did 
not  dream  of  its  conflicting  with  the  command  to 
"  close  up."  General  Wood,  a  West-Point  gradu 
ate,  instead  of  sending  or  going  to  Rosecrans  for 
better  orders,  obeyed  literally  the  second  clause, 
and  withdrew  his  command  from  the  line  to  form 
it  in  the  rear  of  Reynolds.  Opposite  to  the  wide 
and  fatal  opening  thus  left  was  Longstreet,  the 
ablest  corps  commander  in  the  Confederate  ser 
vice,  who  instantly  saw  his  advantage  and  prompt 
ly  poured  his  men,  six  divisions  of  them,  through 
the  gap.  This  cut  off  McCook's  corps  from  the 
rest  of  the  army,  and  it  was  speedily  defeated  and 


328  BATTLE    OF    CHICK  AM  AUGA.  [1863. 

routed  in  confusion.  The  centre  was  crumbled, 
and  it  looked  as  if  the  whole  army  must  be  de 
stroyed.  Rosecrans,  who  had  been  with  the  de 
feated  right  wing,  appeared  to  lose  his  head  com 
pletely,  and  rode  back  in  all  haste  to  Chattanooga 
to  make  arrangements  for  gathering  there  the 
fragments  of  his  forces.  At  nightfall  he  sent  his 
chief  of  staff,  General  James  A.  Garfield  (after 
ward  President)  to  find  what  had  become  of 
Thomas,  and  Garfield  found  Thomas  where  not 
even  the  destruction  of  three  fifths  of  the  army 
had  moved  or  daunted  him. 

When  Thomas's  right  flank  was  exposed  to  as 
sault  by  the  disruption  of  the  centre,  he  swung  it 
back  to  a  position  known  as  Horseshoe  Ridge, 
still  covering  the  road.  Longstreet  was  pressing 
forward  to  pass  the  right  of  this  position,  when  he 
was  stopped  by  Gordon  Granger,  who  had  been 
with  a  reserve  at  Rossville  Gap,  but  was  wiser 
and  bolder  than  his  orders,  and,  instead  of  remain 
ing  there,  moved  forward  to  the  support  of 
Thomas.  The  Confederate  commander,  when 
complete  victory  was  apparently  so  near,  seemed 
reckless  of  the  lives  of  his  men,  thrusting  them 
forward  again  and  again  in  futile  charges,  where 
Thomas's  batteries  literally  mowed  them  down 
with  grape  and  canister,  and  a  steady  fire  of  mus 
ketry  increased  the  bloody  harvest.  About  dusk 
the  ammunition  was  exhausted,  and  the  last 
charges  of  the  Confederates  were  repelled  with 
the  bayonet.  Thomas  had  fairly  won  the  title  of 
"  the  rock  of  Chickamauga."  In  the  night  he  fell 


1863.]  BATTLE   OF   CHICKAMAUGA.  329 

back  in  good  order  to  Rossville,  leaving  the  ene 
my  in  possession  of  the  field,  with  all  the  dead 
and  wounded.  Sheridan,  who  had  been  on  the 
right  of  the  line  and  was  separated  by  its  disrup 
tion,  kept  his  command  together,  marched  around 
the  mountain,  and  before  morning  joined  Thomas 
at  Rossville,  whence  they  fell  back  the  next  day 
to  Chattanooga,  where  order  was  quickly  restored 
and  the  defences  strengthened. 

The  National  loss  in  the  two-days  battle  of 
Chickamauga — killed,  wounded,  and  missing  — 
was  sixteen  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty-six. 
The  Confederate  reports  are  incomplete  and  un 
satisfactory  ;  but  estimates  of  Bragg's  loss  make 
it  at  least  eighteen  thousand,  and  some  carry  it  up 
nearly  to  twenty-one  thousand.  With  the  excep 
tion  of  Gettysburg,  this  was  thus  far  the  most  de 
structive  action  of  the  war.  Tactically  it  was  a 
victory  for  Bragg,  who  was  left  in  possession  of 
the  field  ;  but  that  which  he  was  fighting  for, 
Chattanooga,  he  did  not  get.  He  advanced,  how 
ever,  to  positions  on  Lookout  Mountain  and  Mis 
sion  Ridge,  and  put  the  town  into  a  state  of  siege, 
managing  to  stop  the  navigation  of  the  river  be 
low  and  cut  off  all  of  Rosecrans'  routes  of  supply, 
except  one  long  and  difficult  wagon-road. 

A  month  after  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  the 
National  forces  in  the  West  were  to  some  extent 
reorganized.  The  departments  of  the  Ohio,  the 
Cumberland,  and  the  Tennessee  were  united 
under  the  title  of  Military  Division  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  of  which  General  Grant  was  made  com- 


33O  GRANT    AT    CHATTANOOGA.  [1863. 

mander,  and  Thomas  superseded  Rosecrans  in  com 
mand  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  General 
Hooker,  with  two  corps,  was  sent  to  Tennessee. 
Grant  arrived  at  Chattanooga  on  the  23d  of 
October,  and  found  affairs  in  a  deplorable  condi 
tion.  It  was  impossible  to  supply  the  troops  prop 
erly  by  the  one  wagon-road,  and  they  had  been 
on  short  rations  for  some  time,  while  large  num 
bers  of  the  mules  and  horses  were  dead.  Grant's 
first  care  was  to  open  a  new  and  better  line  of  sup 
ply.  Steamers  could  come  up  the  river  as  far  as 
Bridgeport,  and  he  ordered  the  immediate  con 
struction  of  a  road  and  bridge  to  reach  that  point 
by  way  of  Brown's  Ferry,  wrhich  was  done  within 
five  days,  the  "  cracker  line,"  as  the  soldiers  called 
it,  was  opened,  and  thenceforth  they  had  full 
rations  and  abundance  of  everything.  The  enemy 
attempted  to  interrupt  the  work  on  the  road  ;  but 
Hooker  met  them  at  Wauhatchie,  west  of  Lookout 
Mountain,  and  after  a  three-hours  action  drove 
them  off. 

Chattanooga  was  now  no  longer  in  a  state  of 
siege  ;  but  it  was  still  seriously  menaced  by 
Bragg's  army,  which  held  a  most  singular  posi 
tion.  Its  flanks  were  on  the  northern  ends  of 
Lookout  Mountain  and  Mission  Ridge,  the  crests 
of  which  were  occupied  for  some  distance,  and 
its  centre  stretched  across  Chattanooga  valley. 
This  line  was  twelve  miles  long,  and  most  of  it 
was  well  intrenched. 

Grant  ordered  Sherman  to  join  him  with  one 
corps,  and  Sherman  promptly  obeyed,  but  as  he 


1863.]        HOOKERS    BATTLE    ABOVE    THE    CLOUDS.         33! 

did  considerable  railroad  repairing  on  the  way,  he 
did  not  reach  Chattanooga  till  the  I5th  of  Novem 
ber.  Meanwhile,  Longstreet  with  twenty  thou 
sand  troops  had  been  detached  from  Bragg's  army 
and  sent  against  Burnside  at  Knoxville.  After 
Sherman's  arrival,  Grant  had  about  eighty  thou 
sand  men.  He  placed  Sherman  on  his  left,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Tennessee,  opposite  the  head  of 
Mission  Ridge  ;  Thomas  in  the  centre,  across  Chat 
tanooga  valley  ;  and  Hooker  on  his  right  around 
the  base  of  Lookout  Mountain.  He  purposed  to 
have  Sherman  advance  against  Bragg's  right  and 
capture  the  heights  of  Mission  Ridge,  while 
Thomas  and  Hooker  should  press  the  centre  and 
left  just  enough  to  prevent  any  reinforcements 
from  being  sent  against  Sherman.  If  this  were 
successful,  Bragg's  key-point  being  taken,  his 
whole  army  would  be  obliged  to  retreat.  Sher 
man  laid  two  bridges  in  the  night  of  November 
23,  and  next  day  crossed  the  river  and  advanced 
upon  the  enemy's  works  ;  but  he  met  with  unex 
pected  difficulties  in  the  nature  of  the  ground,  and 
was  only  partially  successful.  Hooker,  who  had 
more  genius  for  fighting  than  for  strictly  obeying 
orders,  moved  around  the  base  of  Lookout  Moun 
tain,  and  attacked  the  seemingly  impregnable 
heights.  His  men  climbed  the  steep  in  the  rain, 
clearing  away  abatis  as  they  went,  disappeared  in 
a  zone  of  mist  or  cloud  that  hung  around  the 
mountain,  and  made  their  way  to  its  very  summit, 
where  they  routed  the  enemy,  taking  many  guns 
and  prisoners.  This  action  is  famous  as  Hooker's 


332 


BATTLES    OF   CHATTANOOGA. 


[1863. 


"  battle  above  the  clouds."     That  night  battalions 
were  seen  crossing  the  disk  of  the  rising  moon. 


The  next  day,  the  25th,  Hooker  was  to  pass 
down  the  eastern  slope  of  Lookout  Mountain, 
cross  Chattanooga  valley,  and  strike  the  left  of 
Bragg's  position  as  now  held  on  the  crest  and 
western  slope  of  Mission  Ridge.  But  the  destruc- 


1863.]  CAPTURE   OF   MISSION    RIDGE.  333 

tion  of  a  bridge  by  the  retreating  enemy  delayed 
him  four  hours,  and  Grant  saw  that  Bragg  was 
weakening  his  centre  to  mass  troops  against  Sher 
man.  So  without  waiting  longer  for  Hooker,  he 
ordered  an  advance  of  the  centre  held  by  Thomas. 
Under  the  immediate  leadership  of  Generals  Sheri 
dan  and  Wood,  Thomas's  men  crossed  the  valley, 
walked  right  into  the  line  of  Confederate  works  at 
the  base  of  Mission  Ridge,  followed  the  retreating 
enemy  to  a  second  line  half-way  up  the  slope,  took 
this,  and  still  keeping  at  the  very  heels  of  the  Con 
federates,  who  thus  shielded  them  from  the  batteries 
at  the  top,  reached  the  summit  and  swept  everything 
before  them.  Bragg's  army  was  completely  de 
feated,  and  its  captured  guns  were  turned  upon  it 
as  it  fled.  He  himself,  after  vainly  trying  to  rally 
the  fugitives  by  riding  among  them  and  shouting, 
"  Here's  your  commander  ! "  being  answered  deris 
ively,  "  Here's  your  mule  ! "  was  obliged  to  join  in 
the  flight. 

In  these  battles  the  National  loss  was  nearly 
six  thousand  men.  The  Confederate  loss  was 
about  ten  thousand,  of  whom  six  thousand  were 
prisoners,  and  forty-two  guns.  Bragg  established 
the  remainder  of  his  army  in  a  fortified  camp  at 
Dalton,  Ga.,  and  was  soon  superseded  in  command 
by  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston.  Granger  and 
Sherman  were  sent  to  the  relief  of  Burnside  at 
Knoxville,  and  Longstreet  withdrew  to  Virginia. 

The  Chattanooga  campaign  was  perhaps  the 
most  picturesque  of  any  in  the  war,  and  was  full 
of  romantic  incidents. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  -BLACK    CHAPTER. 

So  far  as  the  military  situation  was  concerned,  the 
victories  at  Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg  wrote  the 
doom  of  the  Confederacy,  and  there  the  struggle 
should  have  ended.  That  it  did  not  end  there, 
was  due  partly  to  a  hope  that  the  Democratic 
party  at  the  North  might  carry  the  next  presidential 
election,  but  more  largely  to  the  temper  of  the 
Southern  people,  which  had  been  concentrated  into 
an  intense  personalized  hatred.  This  began  before 
the  war,  was  one  of  the  chief  circumstances  that 
made  it  possible  to  carry  the  conspiracy  into  execu 
tion,  and  seemed  to  be  carefully  nursed  by  Mr. 
Davis  and  his  ministers. 

General  Andrew  J.  Hamilton,  who  had  been 
Attorney-General  of  Texas,  in  a  speech  delivered 
in  New  York  in  1863,  declared  that  two  hundred 
men  were  hanged  in  Texas  during  the  presidential 
canvass  of  1860,  because  they  were  suspected  of 
being  more  loyal  to  the  Union  than  to  slavery. 
Judge  Baldwin,  of  Texas,  speaking  in  Washington 
in  October,  1864,  said:  "The  wrongs  inflicted  on 
the  Union  men  of  Texas  surpass  in  cruelty  the 
horrors  of  the  Inquisition.  From  two  to  three 
thousand  men  have  been  hanged,  in  many  cases 
without  even  the  form  of  a  trial,  simply  and  solely 


1863.]  PERSECUTION    IN    TEXAS.  335 

because  they  were  Union  men  and  would  not  give 
their  support  to  secession.  Indeed,  it  has  been, 
and  is,  the  express  determination  of  the  seces 
sionists  to  take  the  life  of  every  Union  man.  Nor 
are  they  always  particular  to  ascertain  what  a  man's 
real  sentiments  are.  It  is  sufficient  for  them  that 
a  man  is  a  d — d  Yankee.  One  day  a  secessionist 
said  to  the  Governor  of  Texas,  '  There  is  Andrew 
Jackson  Hamilton  —  suppose  I  kill  the  d  —  d 
Unionist.'  Said  the  Governor,  *  Kill  him  or  any 
other  Unionist,  and  you  need  fear  nothing  while 
I  am  Governor.'  As  I  was  passing  through  one 
place  in  Texas,  I  saw  three  men  who  had  been 
hanged  in  the  course  of  the  night.  When  I 
inquired  the  cause,  I  was  told  in  the  coolest  man 
ner  that  it  was  to  be  presumed  they  were  Union 
men."  In  Grayson  county,  a  man  named  Hillier, 
who  had  come  from  the  North,  was  forced  into  the 
Confederate  army.  Soon  afterward  his  wife  was 
heard  to  remark  that  she  wished  the  Union  army 
would  advance  and  take  possession  of  Texas,  that 
her  husband  might  return  and  provide  for  his 
family.  This  being  reported  to  the  Provost 
Marshal,  he  sent  six  men  dressed  in  women's 
clothes,  who  dragged  her  to  the  nearest  tree  and 
hanged  her  in  the  sight  of  her  little  children. 

In  the  mountainous  portions  of  Virginia, 
Tennessee,  and  North  Carolina,  where  compara 
tively  few  slaves  were  kept,  large  numbers  of  the 
people  were  opposed  to  secession,  and  for  their 
devotion  to  the  Union  they  suffered  such  persecu 
tion  as  had  never  been  witnessed  in  this  part  of 


336  THE    BLACK    FLAG.  [1863. 

the  world.  It  was  perhaps  most  violent  in  east 
Tennessee.  Among  the  numerous  deliberate  and 
brutal  murders,  committed  by  men  in  Confederate 
uniform,  were  those  of  the  Rev.  L.  Carter  and  his 
son,  in  Bradley  county,  the  Rev.  M.  Cavander,  in 
Van  Buren  county,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Blair,  of  Hamil 
ton  county,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Douglas  —  all  for  the 
simple  reason  that  they  were  Unionists.  Many  of 
the  outrages  upon  the  wives  and  children  of  Union 
men  were  such  as  any  writer  would  shrink  from 
recording.  Those  who  could  get  away  fled  north 
ward,  often  after  their  homes  had  been  burned  and 
their  movable  property  carried  off,  and  became 
subjects  of  charity  in  the  free  States. 

In  Virginia,  Governor  Letcher  wrote  to  a  man 
named  Fitzgerald,  who  had  been  arrested  on  sus 
picion  of  Unionism,  and  asked  to  be  released : 
"  In  1856  you  voted  for  the  abolitionist  Fremont 
for  President.  Ever  since  the  war,  you  have 
maintained  a  sullen  silence  in  regard  to  its  merits. 
Your  son,  who,  in  common  with  other  young  men, 
was  called  to  the  defence  of  his  country,  has  escaped 
to  the  enemy,  probably  by  your  advice.  This  is 
evidence  enough  to  satisfy  me  that  you  are  a  traitor 
to  your  country,  and  I  regret  that  it  is  not  sufficient 
to  justify  me  in  demanding  you  from  the  military 
authorities,  to  be  tried  and  executed  for  treason." 
The  Lynchburg  "  Republican  "  said,  "  Our  people 
were  greatly  surprised,  on  Saturday  morning,  to 
see  the  black  flag  waving  over  the  depot  of  the 
Virginia  and  Tennessee  Railroad  Company.  We 
are  for  displaying  that  flag  throughout  the  whole 


1862.]  THE    GUERILLAS.  337 

South.  We  should  ask  no  quarter  at  the  hands  of  the 
vandal  Yankee  invaders,  and  our  motto  should  be, 
an  entire  extermination  of  every  one  who  has  set 
foot  upon  our  sacred  soil."  And  the  Jackson 
"  Mississippian  "  said,  in  the  summer  of  1862,  "  In 
addition  to  pitched  battles  upon  the  open  field,  let 
us  try  partisan  ranging,  bushwhacking,  and  hence 
forward,  until  the  close  of  this  war,  let  our  sign  be 
the  black  flag  and  no  quarter."  According  to 
Governor  Letcher,  as  quoted  in  Pollard's  "  Secret 
History  of  the  Confederacy,"  Stonewall  Jackson 
was,  from  the  beginning  of  the  war,  in  favor  of 
raising  the  black  flag,  and  thought  that  no  prison 
ers  should  be  taken.  The  same  historian  is 
authority  for  the  story  that  once  when  an  inferior 
officer  was  regretting  that  some  National  soldiers 
had  been  killed  in  a  display  of  extraordinary  cour 
age,  when  they  might  as  readily  have  been  captured, 
Jackson  replied  curtly,  " Shoot  them  all;  I  don't 
want  them  to  be  brave." 

The  Confederate  Congress  passed  an  act,  ap 
proved  April  21,  1862,  authorizing  the  organization 
of  bands  of  partisan  rangers,  to  be  entitled  to  the 
same  pay,  rations,  and  quarters  as  other  soldiers, 
and  to  have  the  same  protection  in  case  of  capture. 
These  partisan  rangers  were  popularly  known  as 
guerillas,  and  most  of  them  were  irresponsible 
marauding  bands,  acting  the  part  of  thieves  and 
murderers  until  captured,  and  then  claiming  treat 
ment  as  prisoners  of  war,  on  the  ground  that  they 
were  regularly  commissioned  and  enlisted  soldiers 
of  the  Confederacy. 


338  SECESSION    FROM    SECESSION.  [1863. 

Some  of  the  devices  that  were  resorted  to  for 
the  purpose  of  intensifying  the  hatred  of  North 
ern  people  and  Unionists  now  appear  ludicrous. 
Thousands  of  people  in  the  South  were  made 
to  believe  that  Hannibal  Hamlin,  elected  Vice- 
President  on  the  ticket  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  was  a 
mulatto  ;  that  Mr.  Lincoln  himself  was  a  monster 
of  cruelty ;  and  that  the  National  army  was  made 
up  largely  of  Irish  and  German  mercenaries. 

As  Mr.  Lincoln  predicted,  and  as  every  reflecting 
citizen  must  have  known,  those  who  attempted  to 
carry  out  the  doctrine  of  secession -from  the  United 
States  were  obliged  to  confront  its  corollary  in  a 
proposal  to  secede  from  secession.  In  North 
Carolina  a  convention  was  held  to  nominate  State 
officers,  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  asserting 
North  Carolina's  sovereignty  by  withdrawing  from 
the  Confederacy  —  on  the  ground  that  it  had  failed 
in  its  duties  as  agent  for  the  sovereign  States 
composing  it  —  and  making  peace  with  the  United 
States.  The  convention  was  largely  attended,  and 
included  many  of  the  most  intelligent  and  wealthy 
men  in  the  State ;  but  the  Confederate  Govern 
ment  sent  an  armed  force  to  break  up  the  meeting 
and  imprison  the  leaders.  In  the  Confederate 
Congress  there  were  forty  members  who  always 
voted  in  a  body,  in  secret  session,  as  Mr.  Davis 
wanted  them  to.  They  were  commonly  known  as 
"  the  forty  thieves."  When  the  war  began  to  look 
hopeless,  a  popular  movement  in  favor  of  peace 
resulted  in  the  choice  of  other  men  to  fill  their 
places  ;  but  before  their  terms  expired  a  law  was 


RIOT    IN   CONCORD.  339 

passed  which  made  it  treason  to  use  language  that 
could  be  construed  as  a  declaration  that  any  State 
had  a  right  to  secede  from  the  Confederacy.  The 
people  of  southwestern  North  Carolina,  like  those 
of  east  Tennessee,  were  mostly  small,  industrious 
farmers,  without  slaves,  living  in  a  secluded  valley. 
They  knew  almost  nothing  of  the  political  turmoil 
that  distracted  the  country,  and  did  not  wish  to 
take  any  part  in  the  war.  They  had  voted  against 
disunion,  and  asked  to  be  exempted  from  the  Con 
federate  conscription  law.  When  this  was  denied, 
they  petitioned  to  be  expatriated ;  and  when  this  also 
was  refused,  they  resorted  to  such  measures  as  they 
could  to  avoid  conscription.  Thereupon  the  Con 
federate  Government  sent  North  Carolina  troops 
to  subdue  them  ;  and  when  these  were  found  to 
fraternize  with  the  people,  troops  from  other  States 
were  sent ;  and  when  they  also  failed  to  do  the  re 
quired  work,  a  brigade  of  Cherokee  Indians  was 
turned  into  the  valley,  who  committed  such  atroci 
ties  as  might  have  been  expected.* 

There  were  instances  of  intolerance  and  outrage 
at  the  North,  but  they  were  comparatively  few. 
One  of  the  most  notable  occurred  in  Concord, 
N.  H.,  in  August,  1863,  where  a  newspaper  that  had 
been  loud  in  its  disloyalty  was  punished  by  a  mob, 
mainly  of  newly  recruited  soldiers,  who  gutted  the 
office  and  threw  the  type  into  the  street.  The 
sheriff's  reading  of  the  Riot  Act  consisted  in 
climbing  a  lamp-post,  extending  his  right  arm,  and 

*  See  report  of  a  speech  by  the  Hon.  C.  J.  Barlow,  of  Georgia,  de 
livered  in  Cooper  Institute,  New  York,  Oct.  15,  1864. 


340  MASSACRE    AT    FORT    PILLOW.  [1864. 

saying  persuasively  to   the  rioters,  "  Now,  boys,  I 
guess  you'd  better  go  home." 

The  resentment  excited  by  the  enlistment  of 
black  troops,  and  the  determination  not  to  treat 
them  in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  civilized  war 
fare,  were  most  notably  exemplified  at  the  capture 
of  Fort  Pillow,  April  12,  1864.  This  work  was  on 
the  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  about  forty  miles 
above  Memphis,  on  a  high  bluff,  with  a  ravine  on 
either  side.  In  the  lower  ravine  were  some  Gov 
ernment  buildings  and  a  little  village.  The  fort, 
under  command  of  Major  L.  F.  Booth,  had  a  gar 
rison  of  about  five  hundred  and  fifty  men,  nearly 
half  of  whom  were  colored.  The  Confederate 
General  Forrest,  with  about  five  thousand  men,  at 
tacked  the  place  at  sunrise.  The  garrison  made  a 
gallant  defence,  aided  by  thegunboat  "  New  Era," 
which  enfiladed  the  ravines,  and  after  half  a 
day's  fighting,  though  the  commander  of  the  fort 
was  killed,  the  besiegers  had  made  no  progress. 
They  then  resorted  to  the  device  of  sending  in 
flags  of  truce,  demanding  a  surrender,  and  took 
advantage  of  the  truce  to  move  up  into  positions 
near  the  fort,  which  they  had  vainly  tried  to  reach 
under  fire.  As  soon  as  the  second  flag  of  truce 
was  withdrawn,  they  made  a  rush  upon  the  fort, 
passed  over  the  works,  and  with  a  cry  of  "  No 
quarter ! "  began  an  indiscriminate  slaughter, 
though  the  garrison  threw  down  their  arms  and 
either  surrendered  or  ran  down  the  river  bank. 
Women  and  children,  as  well  as  men,  were  delib 
erately  murdered,  and  the  savagery  continued  for 


1864.]  MASSACRE    AT    FORT    PILLOW.  34! 

hours  after  the  surrender.  The  sick  and  the 
wounded  were  butchered  in  their  tents,  and  in  some 
cases  tents  and  buildings  were  set  on  fire  after  the 
occupants  had  been  fastened  so  that  they  could 
not  escape.  In  one  instance,  a  Confederate  officer 
had  taken  up  a  negro  child  behind  him  on  his  horse. 
When  General  Chalmers  observed  this,  he  ordered 
the  officer  to  put  the  child  down  and  shoot  him, 
and  the  order  was  obeyed.  Major  W.  F.  Brad 
ford,  on  whom  the  command  of  the  fort  had  de 
volved,  was  murdered  the  next  day,  when  he  was 
being  marched  away  as  a  prisoner.  Fewer  than  a 
hundred  of  the  garrison  were  killed  in  the  battle, 
and  about  three  hundred  were  butchered  after  the 
surrender.  Forrest's  loss  is  unknown.  His  early 
reports  of  the  affair  were  exultant.  In  one  he 
wrote,  "  We  busted  the  fort  at  ninerclock  and 
scatered  the  niggers.  The  men  is  still  a  cillanem 
in  the  woods.  .  .  .  Them  as  was  cotch  with  spoons 
and  brestpins  and  sich  was  cilled  and  the  rest  of 
the  lot  was  payrold  and  told  to  git."  Again  he  or 
his  adjutant  wrote  :  "  The  river  was  dyed  with  the 
blood  of  the  slaughtered  for  two  hundred  yards. 
...  It  is  hoped  that  these  facts  will  demonstrate 
to  the  Northern  people  that  negro  soldiers  cannot 
cope  with  Southerners."  Forrest  had  been  a  slave- 
trader  before  the  war,  and  did  not  know  that 
there  could  be  any  such  thing  as  cruelty  or  treach 
ery  in  dealing  with  black  men.  When  he  found 
that  the  civilized  world  was  horrified  at  what  he 
had  done,  he  attempted  to  palliate  it  by  saying 
that  the  flag  at  the  fort  had  not  been  hauled  down 


342  CARE    OF    PRISONERS.  [1863. 

in  token  of  surrender  when  his  men  burst  over  the 
works,  and  that  some  of  the  garrison  retreating 
down  the  river  bank  fired  at  their  pursuers.  But 
his  argument  is  vitiated  by  the  fact  that,  three 
weeks  before,  in  demanding  the  surrender  of  a  force 
at  Paducah,  he  notified  the  commander  that  if  he 
had  to  carry  the  place  by  storm  no  quarter  need 
be  expected. 

There  had  been  from  the  beginning  a  difficulty 
about  the  care  of  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the 
Confederates,  which  arose  chiefly  from  the  incom 
petence  and  brutality  of  Commissary-General 
Northrop.  Once  when  Captain  Warner,  who  had 
charge  of  the  prisoners  in  Richmond,  was  directed 
to  make  a  requisition  on  Northrop  for  subsistence, 
he  was  answered,  "  I  know  nothing  of  Yankee 
prisoners  —  throw  them  all  into  the  James  River!" 
"  But,"  said  the  Captain,  "  at  least  tell  me  how  I 
am  to  keep  my  accounts  for  the  prisoners'  subsist 
ence."  "  Sir,"  said  Northrop,  "  I  have  not  the 
will  or  the  time  to  speak  with  you.  Chuck  the 
scoundrels  into  the  river  !  "  This  man  was  main 
tained  in  the  post  of  Commissary-General  through 
out  the  war,  though  his  maladministration  of  the 
office  many  times  produced  a  scarcity  of  food  in 
the  Confederate  camps,  and  in  the  last  year  the 
subsistence  of  prisoners  was  also  intrusted  to  him. 

Of  the  prisoners  captured  by  the  Confederate 
armies,  most  of  the  commissioned  officers  were 
confined  in  the  Libby  warehouse  (thenceforward 
known  as  Libby  Prison)  in  Richmond,  and  at 
Columbia,  S.  C.  The  non-commissioned  officers 


1864.]  THE    HORRORS   OF   ANDERSONVILLE.  343 

and  privates  were  kept  in  camps — on  Belle  Isle,  in 
the  James  River  at  Richmond  ;  at  Salisbury, 
N.  C.  ;  at  Florence,  S.  C.  ;  at  Tyler,  Texas  ;  and 
at  Andersonville  and  Millen,  Georgia.  Most  of 
these  were  simply  open  stockades,  with  little  or 
no  shelter.  That  at  Andersonville  enclosed  about 
twenty  acres,  afterward  enlarged  to  thirty.  The 
palisade  was  of  pine  logs,  fifteen  feet  high,  set 
close  together.  Outside  of  this,  at  a  distance  of 
a  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  was  another  palisade, 
and  between  the  two  were  the  guards.  Inside  of 
the  inner  stockade,  and  about  twenty  feet  from  it, 
was  a  slight  railing  known  as  the  "  dead-line," 
since  any  prisoner  that  passed  it,  or  even  ap 
proached  it  too  closely,  was  immediately  shot. 
A  small  stream  flowed  sluggishly  through  the  en 
closure  and  furnished  the  prisoners  their  only  sup 
ply  of  water  for  washing,  drinking,  or  cooking. 
The  cook-houses  and  camp  of  the  guards  were 
placed  on  this  stream,  above  the  stockade.  There 
was  plenty  of  timber  in  sight  from  the  prison,  yet 
no  shelter  was  furnished  inside  of  the  stockade, 
except  such  as  the  prisoners  could  make  with  the 
few  blankets  they  possessed.  Their  rations  were 
often  issued  to  them  uncooked,  and  they  burrowed 
in  the  ground  for  roots  with  which  to  make  a  little 
fire.  The  stream  was  soon  polluted,  and  its  banks 
became  a  mass  of  mire  and  filth.  A  common 
exclamation  of  newly-arrived  prisoners,  as  they 
entered  the  appalling  place,  was,  "Is  this  hell?" 
It  was  said  that  the  Confederate  General  John 
H.  Winder,  under  whose  direction  the  stock- 


344  WINDERS    SAVAGERY.  [1864. 

ade  was  built,  was  asked  to  leave  a  few  trees 
inside  of  it,  and  erect  some  sheds  for  the  shelter  of 
the  prisoners,  but  he  answered  "  No !  I  am  going 
to  build  the  pen  so  as  to  destroy  more  Yankees 
than  can  be  destroyed  at  the  front."  Winder's 
well-known  character,  the  place  chosen  for  the 
stockade,  all  its  arrangements,  and  the  manner  in 
which  it  was  kept,  leave  no  reasonable  doubt  that 
such  was  the  purpose.  When  Mr.  Davis  and  his 
Cabinet  were  appealed  to  by  the  Confederate 
inspector  of  prisons  and  others,  to  replace  Gen 
eral  Winder  by  a  more  humane  officer,  they  an 
swered  by  promoting  Winder  to  the  place  of 
Commissary-General  of  all  the  prisoners. 

One  of  the  prisoners,  Robert  H.  Kellogg,  Ser 
geant-major  of  the  1 6th  Connecticut  regiment, 
who  was  taken  to  Andersonville  when  it  had  been 
in  use  about  two  months,  says  in  his  diary  :  "  As 
we  entered  the  place,  a  spectacle  met  our  eyes 
that  almost  froze  our  blood  with  horror  and  made 
our  hearts  fail  within  us.  Before  us  were  forms 
that  had  once  been  active  and  erect,  stalwart  men, 
now  nothing  but  mere  walking  skeletons,  cov 
ered  with  filth  and  vermin.  In  the  centre  was  a 
swamp  occupying  three  or  four  acres  of  the  nar 
rowed  limits,  and  a  part  of  this  marshy  place  had 
been  used  by  the  prisoners  as  a  sink,  and  excre 
ment  covered  the  ground,  the  scent  arising  from 
which  was  suffocating.  The  ground  allotted  to 
our  ninety  was  near  the  edge  of  this  plague-spot, 
and  how  we  were  to  live  through  the  warm  sum 
mer  weather  in  the  midst  of  such  fearful  surround- 


1864.]  MURDER   OF   PRISONERS.  345 

ings,  was  more  than  we  cared  to  think  of  just  then. 
No  shelter  was  provided  for  us  by  the  rebel  au 
thorities,  and  we  therefore  went  to  work  to  pro 
vide  for  ourselves.  Eleven  of  us  combined  to 
form  a  family.  For  the  small  sum  of  two  dollars 
in  greenbacks  we  purchased  eight  small  saplings, 
eight  or  nine  feet  long.  These  we  bent  and  made 
fast  in  the  ground,  and,  covering  them  with  our 
blankets,  made  a  tent  with  an  oval  roof,  about 
thirteen  feet  long.  We  needed  the  blankets  for 
our  protection  from  the  cold  at  night,  but  con 
cluded  it  to  be  quite  as  essential  to  our  comfort 
to  shut  out  the  rain.  There  were  ten  deaths  on 
our  side  of  the  camp  that  night.  The  old  prison 
ers  called  it  '  being  exchanged,'  and  truly  it  was  a 
blessed  transformation." 

At  one  time  there  were  thirty-three  thousand  pris 
oners  in  the  stockade,  which  gave  a  space  about  four 
feet  square  to  each  man.  The  whole  number 
sent  there  was  about  forty-nine  thousand  five 
hundred,  of  whom  nearly  thirteen  thousand  died. 
At  Salisbury  prison  the  deaths  were  thirteen  per 
cent,  a  month,  and  at  Florence  twelve  per  cent. 
Most  of  the  deaths  were  from  disease  and  starva 
tion,  but  there  were  numerous  murders.  It  was 
said  that  every  sentry,  on  shooting  a  prisoner  for 
violation  of  rules,  received  a  month's  furlough ; 
and  this  was  corroborated  by  the  alacrity  with 
which  they  seized  any  pretext  for  firing.  In  Libby, 
men  were  often  shot  for  approaching  near  enough 
to  a  window  for  the  sentry  to  see  their  heads. 
In  Andersonville  one  was  shot  for  crawling  out  to 


346  SUSPENSION    OF    EXCHANGES.  [1864. 

secure  a  small  piece  of  wood  that  lay  near  the 
dead-line  ;  and  there  were  many  incidents  of  that 
kind.  Some  of  the  men  became  deranged  or  des 
perate,  and  deliberately  walked  up  to  the  dead 
line  for  the  purpose  of  being  put  out  of  their  mis 
ery.  There  were  many  escapes  from  these  pris 
ons  ;  but  the  fugitives  were  generally  soon  missed 
and  were  followed  by  fleet  horsemen  and  often 
tracked  by  blood-hounds,  and  though  they  were 
always  befriended  by  the  negroes,  who  fed  them, 
concealed  them  by  day,  and  guided  them  at  night, 
but  few  ultimately  reached  the  National  lines. 

The  crowded  condition  of  the  prisons  in  1864 
was  owing  to  the  fact  that  exchanges  had  been 
discontinued.  A  cartel  for  the  exchange  of  pris 
oners  had  been  in  operation  for  some  time  ;  but 
when  it  was  found  that  the  Confederate  authori 
ties  had  determined  not  to  exchange  any  black 
soldiers,  or  their  white  officers,  captured  in  battle, 
the  United  States  Government  refused  to  exchange 
at  all,  being  bound  to  protect  equally  all  who  had 
entered  its  service.  Paroling  prisoners  on  the 
field  was  also  discontinued,  because  the  Confeder 
ates  could  not  be  trusted  to  observe  their  parole. 
There  had  been  much  -complaint  that  Confederate 
officers  and  soldiers  violated  their  word  in  this 
respect,  either  because  in  their  intense  hatred  of 
the  North  they  could  not  realize  that  they  were 
bound  by  any  promise  given  to  it,  or  because  their 
own  Government  forced  them  back  into  its  ser 
vice.  Many  of  them  were  captured  with  arms  in 
their  hands,  while  they  were  still  under  parole 


1864.]  VIOLATION    OF    PAROLES.  347 

from  a  previous  capture.  The  thirty  thousand 
taken  by  Grant  at  Vicksburg  and  the  six  thousand 
taken  by  Banks  at  Port  Hudson,  in  July,  1863, 
were  released  on  parole,  because  the  cartel  desig 
nated  two  points  for  delivery  of  prisoners  —  Vicks 
burg  in  the  West,  and  Aiken's  Landing,  Va.,  in  the 
East  —  and  Vicksburg,  having  been  captured,  was 
no  longer  available  for  this  purpose,  and  Aiken's 
Landing  was  too  far  away.  Three  months  later, 
the  Confederate  armies  being  in  want  of  reenforce- 
ments,  Colonel  Ould,  Confederate  commissioner 
of  exchange,  raised  the  technical  point  that  the 
prisoners  captured  by  Grant  and  Banks  had  not 
been  delivered  at  a  place  mentioned  in  the  cartel, 
and  therefore  he  declared  them  all  released  from 
their  parole,  and  they  were  restored  to  the  ranks. 
At  Chattanooga,  in  November,  Grant's  army  cap 
tured  large  numbers  from  Bragg's  army  whom 
they  had  captured  in  July  with  Pemberton  and 
had  released  on  a  solemn  promise  that  they  would 
not  take  up  arms  again  until  properly  exchanged. 
Other  difficulties  arose  to  complicate  still 
further  the  question  of  exchanges.  At  one  time 
the  Confederate  authorities  refused  to  make  any 
but  a  general  exchange  —  all  held  by  either  side 
to  be  liberated  ;  which  the  National  Government 
declined,  since  it  held  an  excess  of  about  forty 
thousand.  It  was  observed,  also,  when  partial 
exchanges  were  effected,  that  the  men  returning 
from  Southern  prisons  were  nearly  all  wasted  to 
skeletons  and  unfit  for  further  service,  while  the 
Confederates  returning  from  Northern  prisons 


348  STARVATION    OF    PRISONERS.  [1864. 

were  well  clothed,  well  fed,  and  generally  in  good 
health.  Photographs  of  the  emaciated  men  from 
Andersonville  and  Belle  Isle  were  exhibited 
throughout  the  North,  and  caused  more  of  horror 
than  the  report  from  any  battle-field.  Engravings 
from  them  were  published,  in  the  summer  of  1864, 
by  newspapers  of  both  parties,  for  opposite  pur 
poses —  the  Republican,  to  prove  the  barbarity  of 
the  Confederate  authorities  and  the  atrocious 
spirit  of  the  rebellion  ;  the  Democratic,  to  prove 
that  President  Lincoln  was  a  monster  of  cruelty  in 
that  he  did  not  waive  all  questions  at  issue  and 
consent  to  a  general  exchange.  At  a  later  period, 
the  Confederate  authorities,  being  badly  in  need 
of  men  to  fill  up  their  depleted  armies,  offered  to 
give  up  their  point  about  black  soldiers,  and  ex 
change  man  for  man  —  or  rather  skeleton  for 
man  — without  regard  to  color.  But  as  the  war 
was  nearing  its  close,  and  to  do  this  would  have 
reenforced  the  Southern  armies  with  some  thou 
sands  of  strong  and  well-fed  troops,  and  pro 
longed  the  struggle,  the  National  Government 
refused.  Efforts  were  made,  both  by  the  Govern 
ment  and  by  the  Sanitary  Commission,  to  send 
food,  clothing,  and  medical  supplies  to  those  con 
fined  in  the  Confederate  prisons  ;  but  only  a  small 
portion  of  these  things  ever  reached  the  men  for 
whom  they  were  intended.  At  Libby  prison,  at 
one  time,  boxes  for  the  prisoners  arrived  at  the 
rate  of  three  hundred  a  week;  but  instead  of  be 
ing  distributed  they  were  piled  up  in  warehouses 
in  sight  of  the  hungry  and  shivering  captives, 


1864.]  RATES    OF    MORTALITY.  349 

where  they  were  plundered  by  the  guards  and  by 
the  poorer  inhabitants  of  the  city.  In  one  case  a 
lieutenant  among  the  prisoners  saw  his  own  home 
made  suit  of  clothes  on  a  prison  official,  and 
pointed  out  his  name  embroidered  on  the  watch- 
pocket.* 

The  total  number  of  soldiers  and  citizens  cap 
tured  by  the  Confederate  armies  during  the  war 
was  188,145,  and  it  is  estimated  that  about  half  of 
them  were  actually  confined  in  prisons.  The  num 
ber  of  deaths  in  those  prisons  was  36,401.  The 
number  of  Confederates  captured  by  the  National 
forces  was  476,169,  of  whom  22 7,5 70  were  actually 
confined.  The  percentage  of  mortality  in  the 
Confederate  prisons  was  over  38 ;  in  the  National 
prisons  it  was  13.5. 

There  has  been  much  acrimonious  controversy 
over  this  question  of  the  prisoners,  and  attempts 
have  been  made,  by  juggling  with  the  figures,  to 
prove  that  they  were  as  badly  treated  in  Northern 
as  in  Southern  prisons.  The  most  reasonable  excuse 
for  the  starving  of  captives  at  the  South  is  in  the 
assertion  that  the  Confederate  army  was  on  short 
allowance  at  the  same  time.  It  is  a  sorrowful  sub 
ject  in  any  aspect,  and  presents  complicated  ques 
tions  ;  but  if  it  is  to  be  discussed  at  all,  several 
principles  should  be  kept  in  view,  some  of  which 

*  See  "  Narrative  of  Privations  and  Sufferings  of  United  States 
Officers  and  Soldiers  while  Prisoners  of  War  in  the  Hands  of  the 
Rebel  Authorities.  Being-  the  Report  of  a  Commission  of  Inquiry 
Appointed  by  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission.  With  an  Ap 
pendix  Containing  the  Testimony."  (1864.)  Valentine  Mott,  M.D.,  was 
chairman  of  the  commission. 


35O  PRINCIPLES    RELATING   TO    CAPTURES.  [1864. 

appear  to  have  been  lost  sight  of.  No  belligerent 
is  under  any  obligation  to  enter  into  a  cartel  for 
the  exchange  of  prisoners.  In  the  war  of  1812-15, 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
there  were  no  exchanges  till  the  close  of  the  con 
test.  Every  belligerent  that  takes  prisoners  is 
bound  by  the  laws  of  war  to  treat  them  well,  since 
they  are  no  longer  combatants.  A  belligerent 
that  has  not  the  means  of  caring  properly  for  pris 
oners  is  in  so  far  without  the  means  of  carrying 
on  civilized  warfare,and  therefore  comes  so  far  short 
of  possessing  the  right  to  make  war  at  all.  Every 
time  a  soldier  is  put  out  of  the  combat  by  being 
made  a  prisoner  instead  of  being  shot,  so  much  is 
gained  for  the  cause  of  humanity  ;  and  if  all  pris 
oners  could  be  cared  for  properly, the  most  humane 
way  of  conducting  a  war  would  be  to  make  no  ex 
changes,  since  these  reenforce  both  sides,  prolong 
the  contest,  and  increase  the  mortality  in  the  field. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  SANITARY    AND    CHRISTIAN    COMMISSIONS. 

THE  ancient  sarcasm  that  women  have  caused 
many  of  the  bloodiest  of  wars  was  largely  disarmed 
by  the  part  they  played  in  the  War  of  Secession. 
Their  contribution  to  the  comfort  and  efficiency  of 
the  armies  in  the  field,  and  to  the  care  of  the  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers,  was  on  the  same  vast  scale 
as  the  war  itself.  Their  attempts  to  assist  the 
cause  began  with  the  first  call  for  volunteers,  and 
were  as  awkward  and  unskilled  as  the  green  regi 
ments  that  they  equipped  and  encouraged.  But 
as  their  brothers  learned  the  art  of  war,  they  kept 
even  pace  in  learning  the  arts  that  alleviate  its  suf 
ferings.  When  the  President  issued  the  first  call 

o 

for  troops,  in  April,  1861,  the  women  in  many 
places  held  meetings  to  confer  as  to  the  best 
methods  by  which  they  could  assist,  and  to  organ 
ize  their  efforts  and  resources.  The  statement  of 
the  objects  of  one  of  these  organizations  suggests 
some  conception  of  the  contingencies  of  war  in  a 
country  that  for  nearly  half  a  century  had  known 
almost  unbroken  peace  :  "  To  supply  nurses  for 
the  sick  ;  to  bring  them  home  when  practicable  ; 
to  purchase  clothing,  provisions,  and  matters  of 
comfort  not  supplied  by  Government  regulations ; 
to  send  books  and  newspapers  to  the  camps ;  and 
to  hold  constant  communication  with  the  officers 


352  THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  [1861. 

of  the  regiments,  in  order  that  the  people  may  be 
kept  informed  of  the  condition  of  their  friends." 

On  one  of  the  last  days  in  April,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Henry  W.  Bellows  and  Dr.  Elisha  Harris  met 
casually  in  the  street  in  New  York,  and  fell  into 
conversation  concerning1  the  evident  need  of  sani 
tary  measures  for  the  armies  that  were  then  mus 
tering.  They  agreed  to  attend  a  meeting  of 
women  that  had  been  called  to  discuss  that  subject, 
and  from  that  meeting  a  call  was  issued  to  all  the 
existing  organizations  of  women  for  a  general  meet 
ing  to  be  held  in  Cooper  Union.  This  invitation, 
which  furnished  the  basis  on  which  the  Sanitary 
Commission  was  afterward  formed,  was  signed  by 
ninety-two  women.  The  hall  was  crowded,  and  the 
Women's  Central  Association  of  Relief  was  organ 
ized,  under  a  constitution  written  by  Dr.  Bellows, 
who  was  chosen  its  president.  A  committee  was 
sent  to  Washington  to  offer  the  services  of  the  or 
ganization  to  the  Government,  and  learn  in  what 
way  they  could  be  most  effective.  This  committee, 
consisting  of  Dr.  Bellows  and  three  eminent  physi 
cians — Drs.  Van  Buren,  Harsen,  and  Harris  —  pre 
sented  to  the  War  Department  an  address  whose 
suggestions  were  based  largely  upon  the  experi 
ence  of  the  British  forces  in  the  Crimean  war  of 
1854-5.  Being  sent  by  women  who  were  overflow 
ing  with  patriotic  enthusiasm,  to  officials  who  were 
jealous  and  distrustful  of  everything  outside  of 
the  regulations,  they  had  a  difficult  and  delicate 
task.  The  Government  was  already  embarrassed 
somewhat  in  the  adjustment  of  authority  between 


1861.]  THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  353 

regular  and  volunteer  officers,  and  dreaded  a  fur 
ther  complication  if  a  third  element  of  civilian 
authority  should  be  introduced.  Even  Mr.  Lin 
coln  is  said  to  have  spoken  slightingly  of  their  prop 
osition  as  a  fifth  wheel  to  a  coach.  General  Scott 
received  the  committee  kindly,  but  was  not  willing 
to  give  the  proposed  commission  any  authority. 
He  would,  however,  consent  to  their  acting  in  an 
advisory  capacity,  provided  the  head  of  the  medical 
bureau  agreed.  After  an  interview  with  acting 
Surgeon-General  Wood,  they  obtained  his  consent 
to  the  formation  of  a  "  commission  of  inquiry  and 
advice  in  respect  to  the  sanitary  interests  of 
the  United  States  forces,"  and  he  also  wrote  a  let 
ter  commending  the  project  to  the  other  officers 
whose  consent  was  necessary.  Most  of  these  offi 
cers  looked  upon  the  project  with  distrust  and  sus 
picion,  and  at  length  the  committee  were  asked  to 
"tell  outright  what  they  really  did  want,  under 
this  benevolent  disguise."  After  fighting  their 
way  through  these  obstacles,  the  committee  met 
with  a  misfortune  in  the  death  of  Surgeon-General 
Lawson.  His  successor,  Dr.  Clement  A.  Finley, 
frowned  upon  the  whole  matter,  but  after  a  long 
struggle  was  induced  to  tolerate  a  commission  that 
should  not  be  clothed  with  any  authority,  and 
should  act  only  in  connection  with  officers  of  the 
volunteer  army. 

Finally,  on  June  13,  1861,  the  committee  re 
ceived  from  President  Lincoln  and  Secretary  of 
War  Simon  Cameron  an  order  authorizing  them 
to  form  an  association  for  "  inquiry  and  advice  in 


354  THE  SANITARY    COMMISSION.  1861.] 

respect  to  the  sanitary  interests  of  the  United 
States."  Their  first  work  was  to  bring  about  a 
re-inspection  of  the  volunteer  forces,  which  resulted 
in  the  discharge  of  many  boys  and  physically 
unsound  men  who  had  been  accepted  and  mus 
tered  in  through  carelessness.  When  the  com 
mittee  returned  to  New  York,  the  fact  that  there 
was  a  wide  popular  demand  for  the  establishment 
of  such  an  organization  as  they  had  proposed  was 
made  evident  through  articles  in  the  newspapers, 
opinions  of  physicians,  and  a  multitude  of  letters 
from  all  parts  of  the  country.  Dr.  Bellows  was 
made  president  of  the  Commission,  Frederick  Law 
Olmsted  secretary,  and  George  T.  Strong  treasurer, 
and  with  them  were  associated  a  score  of  well- 
known  men,  including  several  eminent  physicians. 
In  the  organization,  the  first  division  of  the 
duties  of  the  Commission  was  into  two  depart 
ments — those  of  Inquiry  and  Advice.  The  depart 
ment  of  Inquiry  was  sub-divided  into  three — the 
first  to  have  charge  of  such  immediate  aid  and 
obvious  recommendations  as  an  ordinary  knowl 
edge  of  the  principles  of  sanitary  science  would 
enable  the  board  to  urge  upon  the  authorities ; 
the  second  to  have  charge  of  the  inspection  of 
recruiting-stations,  transports,  camps,  and  hospi 
tals,  and  to  consult  with  military  officers  as  to  the 
condition  and  wants  of  their  men  ;  the  third  to 
investigate  questions  of  cleanliness,  cooking,  cloth 
ing,  surgical  dressings,  malaria,  climate,  etc.  The 
department  of  Advice  was  also  subdivided.  The 
general  object  was,  "  to  get  the  opinions  and  con- 


1862.]  THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  355 

elusions  of  the  Commission  approved  by  the 
Medical  Bureau,  ordered  by  the  War  Department, 
and  acted  upon  by  officers  and  men."  One  sub 
committee  was  in  direct  communication  with  the 
War  Department,  another  with  army  officers,  and 
a  third  with  the  State  governments  and  the  local 
associations. 

The  popular  idea  of  the  Sanitary  Commission 
seemed  to  be,  that  its  chief  purpose  was  to  form 
depots  for  receiving  supplies  of  clothing,  medicines, 
and  delicacies,  for  the  camps  and  hospitals,  and 
forwarding  them  safely  and  speedily.  And  this 
part  of  the  work  soon  grew  to  proportions  that 
had  never  been  contemplated.  The  Commission 
issued  an  address  "  to  the  loyal  women  of  Amer 
ica,"  urging  the  formation  of  local  societies  for 
providing  these  articles,  and  in  response  more 
than  seven  thousand  such  societies  were  organized. 
They  were  managed  entirely  by  women,  and  were 
all  tributary  to  the  Sanitary  Commission.  Of  the 
fifteen  million  dollars'  worth  of  articles  received 
and  distributed,  more  than  four  fifths  came  from 
these  local  societies.  The  Commission  was  man 
aged  as  nearly  as  possible  in  accordance  with  mili 
tary  ideas  of  discipline  and  precision.  Every 
request  that  the  stores  furnished  by  a  State  or 
city  might  be  conveyed  to  its  own  regiments  was 
met  with  the  answer  that  all  was  for  the  nation 
and  must  be  turned  in  to  the  general  store.  The 
Commission  rapidly  disarmed  prejudice,  and  won 
the  admiration  of  everybody  in  the  military  ser 
vice.  It  employed  skilled  men  to  cooperate  with 


356  THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION. 

the  regimental  surgeons  in  choosing  sites  for 
camps,  regulating  the  drainage,  and  inspecting  the 
cooking.  It  constructed  model  pavilion  hospitals, 
to  prevent  the  spread  of  contagion.  It  established 
a  system  of  soldiers'  homes,  where  the  sick  and 
the  convalescent  could  be  provided  for  on  their 
way  back  and  forth  between  their  homes  and  the 
front,  and  where  whole  regiments  were  sometimes 
fed  when  their  own  commissariat  failed  them.  It 
fitted  up  hospital  steamers  on  the  Mississippi  and 
its  tributaries,  with  surgeons  and  nurses  on  board, 
to  ply  between  the  seat  of  war  and  the  points  from 
which  Northern  hospitals  could  be  reached.  Dr. 
Elisha  Harris,  of  the  Commission,  invented  a 
hospital  car,  in  which  the  stretcher  on  which  a 
wounded  man  was  brought  from  the  field  could 
be  suspended  and  thus  become  a  sort  of  hammock. 
The  cars  were  built  with  extra  springs,  to  dimin 
ish  the  jolting  as  much  as  possible,  and  trains  of 
them  were  run  regularly,  with  physicians  and 
stores  on  board,  until  the  plan  was  adopted  by  the 
Government  Medical  Bureau.  Supplies  were  con 
stantly  furnished  in  abundance,  and  the  Commis 
sion  established  depots  at  convenient  points, 
where  the  articles  were  assorted  and  labelled,  and 
the  army  officials  were  kept  constantly  informed 
that  such  and  such  things,  in  such  and  such  quan 
tities,  were  subject  to  their  requisition.  When  it 
was  found  difficult  to  transport  fresh  vegetables 
from  distant  points,  the  Commission  laid  out  gar 
dens  of  its  own,  where  vegetables  were  raised  for 
the  use  of  the  soldiers  in  the  field.  The  Commis- 


1863.]  THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  357 

sion  also  had  its  own  horses  and  wagons,  which 
followed  the  armies  to  the  battle-field,  carrying 
supplies  that  were  often  welcome  when  those  of 
the  medical  department  were  exhausted  or  had  gone 
astray.  After  the  battle  of  the  Antietam,  when  ten 
thousand  wounded  lay  on  the  field,  the  train  con 
taining  the  medical  stores  was  blocked  near  Balti 
more  ;  but  the  wagon-train  of  the  Sanitary  Com 
mission  had  been  following  the  army,  and  for  four 
days  the  only  supplies  were  those  that  it  furnished. 
On  this  occasion  it  issued  over  twenty-eight  thou 
sand  shirts,  towels,  pillows,  etc.,  thirty  barrels  of 
lint  and  bandages,  over  three  thousand  pounds  of 
farina,  over  two  thousand  pounds  of  condensed 
milk,  five  thousand  pounds  of  beef  stock  and 
canned  meats,  three  thousand  bottles  of  wine  and 
cordial,  several  tons  of  lemons,  and  crackers,  tea, 
sugar,  rubber  cloth,  tin  cups,  and  other  conven 
iences.  In  the  course  of  the  war,  the  Commission 
furnished  four  million  five  hundred  thousand  meals 
to  sick  and  hungry  soldiers.  In  many  instances, 
notably  at  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run  and  at 
the  assault  on  Fort  Wagner,  the  agents  of  the 
Commission  were  on  the  actual  battle-field  with 
their  supplies  and  were  close  at  the  front  rescuing 
the  wounded.  At  Fort  Wagner  they  followed  up 
the  storming-party  to  the  moat. 

A  large  part  of  the  money  and  supplies  was 
raised  by  means  of  fairs  held  in  nearly  every  city, 
and  the  generosity  exhibited  in  a  thousand  differ 
ent  ways  was  something  for  the  nation  to  be  for 
ever  proud  of.  Those  who  could  not  give  cash 


358  THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  [1864. 

gave  all  sorts  of  things  —  horses,  cows,  carriages, 
watches,  diamonds,  books,  pictures,  curiosities,  and 
every  conceivable  article.  The  managers  would 
be  informed  that  a  farmer  was  at  the  door  with  a 
cow,  which  he  wished  to  give,  and  some  person 
would  be  deputed  to  take  the  cow  and  find  a 
stable  for  her  until  she  could  be  sold.  Another 
would  appear  with  a  portion  of  his  crops.  Men 
and  women  of  note  were  asked  to  furnish  their 
autographs  for  sale,  and  papers  were  printed, 
made  up  of  original  contributions  by  well-known 
authors.  The  sales  were  largely  by  auction,  and 
rich  men  would  bid  off  articles  at  high  prices,  and 
then  give  them  back  to  be  sold  over  again.  The 
amount  of  cash  received  by  the  Commission  was 
over  four  million  nine  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  State  of  California,  which  was  farthest  from 
the  seat  of  war,  and  contributed  but  few  men  to 
the  armies,  sent  more  than  one  million  three  hun 
dred  thousand  dollars.  The  value  of  articles 
received  by  the  Commission  was  estimated  at  fif 
teen  million  dollars.  It  established  convalescent 
camps,  which  were  afterward  taken  by  the  Govern 
ment,  and  a  system  of  hospital  directories  and  a 
pension  bureau  and  claim  agency,  by  which 
soldiers'  claims  were  prosecuted  free  of  charge. 
From  beginning  to  end,  there  was  never  a  deficit 
or  irregularity  of  any  kind  in  its  finances. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  many  of  the  vol 
unteers  were  members  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris 
tian  Association,  and  through  these  an  especial 
solicitude  was  felt  in  that  organization  for  the 


1862.]  THE    CHRISTIAN    COMMISSION.  359 

spiritual  needs  of  the  soldiers.  Almost  as  soon  as 
the  first  call  for  troops  was  made,  measures  were 
taken  to  supply  every  regiment  with  religious 
reading-matter,  prayer-meetings  were  held  at  the 
recruiting-stations,  and  a  soldier's  hymn-book  was 
compiled  and  printed  by  thousands.  When  the 
army  began  to  move,  men  volunteered  to  go  with 
it,  at  their  own  expense,  and  continue  this  work. 
One  of  these  was  Vincent  Colyer,  the  artist,  who, 
after  spending  ten  weeks  in  the  field,  wrote  to  the 
chairman  of  the  National  Committee  of  the  Asso 
ciation,  urging  the  formation  of  a  Christian  Com 
mission  to  carry  on  the  work  systematically.  As 
a  result,  such  a  commission  was  organized  on  No 
vember  14,  1 86 1.  The  approval  of  the  President 
and  the  War  Department  was  obtained  more  read 
ily  than  in  the  case  of  the  Sanitary  Commission, 
but  the  appeal  to  the  people  did  not  elicit  any  im 
mediate  enthusiasm.  Even  the  religious  press 
was  in  some  instances  distrustful  and  discourag 
ing.  For  nearly  a  year  the  means  of  the  Commis 
sion  were  limited,  and  its  work  was  feeble.  In 
May,  1862,  after  an  earnest  address  to  the  public, 
it  was  enabled  to  equip  and  send  out  fourteen  del 
egates,  as  they  were  called,  ten  of  whom  were 
clergymen.  By  the  end  of  that  year,  they  had 
sent  four  hundred  to  the  army,  and  had  more 
than  a  thousand  engaged  in  the  home  work.  They 
had  distributed  in  the  armies  more  than  a  hun 
dred  thousand  Bibles,  as  many  hymn-books,  tens 
of  thousands  of  other  books,  ten  million  leaflets, 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  papers  and  maga- 


360  THE   CHRISTIAN    COMMISSION.  [1863-5. 

zines ;  they  had  formed  twenty-three  libraries,  ex 
pended  over  a  hundred  and  forty  thousand  dollars 
in  money,  and  distributed  an  equal  value  in  stores. 
At  the  close  of  the  second  year,  the  Commis 
sion  had  one  hundred  and  eleven  auxiliary  associa 
tions,  and  the  work  in  the  field  was  more  perfectly 
organized.  General  Grant,  then  in  command  in 
the  West,  issued  a  special  order  giving  the  Com 
mission  every  opportunity  for  the  prosecution  of 
its  work,  and  tried,  but  in  vain,  to  obtain  permis 
sion  for  its  delegates  to  visit  the  National  soldiers 
in  Confederate  prisons.  George  H.  Stuart,  of 
Philadelphia,  was  chairman  of  the  executive  com 
mittee,  Joseph  Patterson  treasurer,  and  Lemuel 
Moss  secretary.  The  work  increased  rapidly. 
Chapel  tents  and  chapel  roofs  were  furnished  to  the 
armies,  diet  kitchens  were  established  in  the 
hospitals,  the  service  called  "  individual  relief" 
was  extended,  and  schools  were  opened  for  chil 
dren  of  colored  soldiers.  Thousands  of  letters 
were  written  for  disabled  men  in  the  hospitals,  and 
thousands  of  packages  forwarded  to  the  camps. 
Jacob  Dunton,  of  Philadelphia,  invented  a  "  coffee 
wagon  "  and  presented  it  to  the  Commission.  Cof 
fee  could  be  made  in  it  in  large  quantities,  as  it 
was  driven  along.  Like  the  Sanitary  Commission, 
the  Christian  Commission  had  its  own  teams  and 
followed  the  armies  with  medical  supplies.  In 
the  course  of  its  existence,  it  sent  out  in  all  six 
thousand  delegates,  none  of  whom  received  any 
pay.  One  hundred  and  twenty  of  these  were  women 
employed  mainly  in  the  diet  kitchens. 


1861-5.]  VOLUNTEER    NURSES.  361 

There  were  also  many  women  in  the  service 
of  the  Government  as  volunteer  nurses.  The  first 
of  these  was  Miss  Dorothea  L.  Dix,  who  offered 
her  services  eight  days  after  the  call  for  troops  in 
April,  1 86 1,  and  was  accepted  by  the  Surgeon- 
General,  who  requested  that  all  women  wishing  to 
act  as  nurses  report  to  her.  Miss  Dix  served 
through  the  war.  Miss  Amy  Bradley,  besides  hav 
ing  charge  of  a  large  camp  for  convalescents  near 
Alexandria,  Va.,  assisted  twenty-two  hundred  men 
in  collecting  arrears  of  pay  due  them,  amounting 
to  over  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Arabella 
Griffith  Barlow,  wife  of  the  gallant  General 
Francis  C.  Barlow,  spent  three  years  in  hospitals 
at  the  front,  and  died  in  the  service.  Miss  Clara 
Barton  entered  upon  hospital  work  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  war,  had  charge  of  the  hospitals  of  the 
Army  of  the  James  during  its  last  year,  and 
after  the  war  undertook  the  search  for  the  miss 
ing  men  of  the  National  armies.  Many  other 
women,  less  noted,  performed  long  and  arduous 
service,  which  in  some  cases  cost  them  their  lives, 
for  which  they  live  in  the  grateful  remembrance  of 
those  who  came  under  their  care. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

THE    OVERLAND    CAMPAIGN. 

AT  the  close  of  the  third  year  of  the  war  —  the 
winter  of  1863-4  —  it  was  evident  to  all  thought 
ful  citizens  that  something  was  lacking  in  its  con 
duct.  To  those  who  understood  military  opera 
tions  on  a  large  scale,  this  had  been  apparent 
long  before.  It  was  true  that  there  had  been  great 
successes,  as  well  as  great  failures.  Both  of  Lee's 
attempts  at  invasion  of  the  North  had  resulted 
disastrously  to  him — the  one  at  the  Antietam,  the 
other  at  Gettysburg  ;  and  when  he  recrossed  the 
Potomac  the  second  time  with  half  of  his  army 
disabled,  it  was  morally  certain  that  he  would  invade 
no  more.  Grant,  first  coming  into  notice  as  the 
captor  of  an  army  in  February,  1862,  had  captured 
another,  more  than  twice  as  large,  in  the  summer 
of  1863,  thus  securing  the  stronghold  of  Vicksburg, 
and  enabling  the  Mississippi,  as  Lincoln  expressed 
it,  to  flow  unvexed  to  the  sea.  Later  in  the  same 
year  he  had  won  a  brilliant  victory  over  Bragg  at 
Chattanooga,  securing  that  important  point  and 
relieving  east  Tennessee.  New  Orleans,  by  far  the 
largest  city  in  the  South,  had  been  firmly  held  by 
the  National  forces  ever  since  Farragut  captured 
it,  in  April,  1862.  There  were  also  numerous 
points  on  the  coast  of  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and 


1864.J  THE    OUTLOOK    IN    THE    LAST    YEAR.  363 

Florida  where  the  stars  and  stripes  floated  every 
day  in  assertion  of  the  nation's  claim  to  supreme 
authority.  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Maryland,  West 
Virginia,  and  Tennessee  —  all  confidently  counted 
upon  by  the  Confederates  at  the  outset  —  were 
now  hopelessly  lost  to  them.  Though  it  had 
seemed,  from  the  reports  of  the  great  battles,  and 
the  manner  in  which  they  were  discussed,  that  the 
Confederates  must  be  making  headway,  yet  a 
glance  at  the  map  showed  that  the  territory  covered 
by  Confederate  authority  had  been  steadily  dimin 
ishing.  Only  one  recapture  of  any  consequence  had 
taken  place,  and  that  was  in  Texas.  Faulty  though 
it  was,  if  the  military  process  thus  far  pursued  by 
the  Administration  had  been  kept  up,  it  must 
ultimately  have  destroyed  the  Confederacy.  And 
there  was  no  military  reason  (using  the  word  in  its 
narrow  sense)  why  it  could  not  be  kept  up  ;  for 
the  resources  of  the  North,  in  men  and  material, 
were  not  seriously  impaired.  All  the  farms  were 
tilled,  all  the  workshops  were  busy,  the  colleges 
had  almost  or  quite  their  usual  number  of  students  ; 
and  there  were  not  nearly  so  many  young  women 
keeping  books  or  standing  behind  counters  as  now. 
Moreover,  the  ports  of  the  North  were  all  open, 
and  the  markets  of  the  world  accessible.  It  is 
true  that  the  currency  and  the  national  securities 
were  at  a  discount,  and  it  was  certain  that  their 
value  would  be  diminished  still  further  by  the 
prolongation  of  the  war  ;  but  this  was  not  fatal  so 
long  as  our  own  country  produced  everything 
essential,  and  it  was  equally  certain  that  with  a 


364  NEED    OF    CONCERTED    ACTION.  [1864. 

restored  Union  the  national  credit  would  be  so 
high  that  we  could  take  our  own  time  about  pay 
ing  the  debt,  distributing  the  burden  over  as  many 
generations  as  we  chose. 

The  necessity  for  a  swifter  process  was  more 
political  than  military.  There  was  a  half-informed 
populace  to  be  satisfied,  and  a  half-loyal  party  to 
be  silenced.  The  subtlest  foe  was  in  our  own 
household  ;  and  the  approach  of  the  Presidential 
and  Congressional  elections,  unless  great  National 
victories  should  intervene,  might  bring  its  oppor 
tunity  and  seal  the  fate  of  the  Republic. 

The  one  thing  required  was  a  single  supreme 
military  head  for  all  the  armies  in  the  field.  The 
faulty  disposition  by  which,  in  many  of  the  great 
battles,  the  several  parts  of  an  army  had  struck 
the  enemy  successively,  instead  of  all  at  once, 
existed  also  on  the  grander  scale.  There  was  no 
concert  of  action  between  the  armies  of  the  East, 
the  West,  and  the  Southwest ;  so  that  large 
detachments  of  the  Confederate  forces  were  sent 
back  and  forth  on  their  shorter  interior  lines,  to 
fight  wherever  they  were  most  needed.  Thus 
Long-street's  powerful  corps  was  at  one  time 
engaged  in  Pennsylvania,  a  little  later  besieging 
Burnside  in  Tennessee,  and  again  with  Lee  in 
Virginia.  Not  only  was  the  need  for  a  supreme 
commander  apparent,  but  it  was  now  no  longer  possi 
ble  to  doubt  who  was  the  man.  We  had  one  general 
that  from  the  first  had  gone  directly  for  the  most  im 
portant  objects  in  his  department,  and  thus  far  had 
secured  everything  he  went  for.  Accordingly 


1864.]  GRANT   MADE    LIEUTENANT-GENERAL.  365 

Congress  passed  a  bill  reviving  the  grade  of  lieu 
tenant-general  in  February,  1864,  and  President 
Lincoln  promptly  conferred  that  rank  upon  Gen 
eral  Ulysses  S.  Grant.  Only  Washington  and 
Scott  had  previously  borne  this  commission  in  the 
United  States  service,  and  through  three  years  of 
the  war  we  had  nothing  higher  than  a  major-gen 
eral  in  the  field.  Rank  was  cheaper  in  the  Con 
federacy,  where  there  were  not  only  lieutenant- 
generals  but  several  full  generals.  Some  of  the 
corps  commanders  in  Lee's  army,  at  the  head  of 
ten  thousand  or  fifteen  thousand  men,  had  nomi 
nally  the  same  rank  (lieutenant-general)  as  Grant 
when  he  assumed  command  of  all  the  National 
forces  in  the  field.  When  Lincoln  handed  Grant 
his  commission,  they  met  for  the  first  time.  A 
year  and  a  month  later,  the  war  was  ended,  Grant 
was  the  foremost  soldier  in  the  world,  and  Lincoln 
was  in  his  grave.  When  the  question  of  head 
quarters  arose,  General  Sherman,  who  was  one  of 
the  warmest  of  Grant's  personal  friends  as  well  as 
his  ablest  lieutenant,  besought  him  to  remain  in 
the  West,  for  he  feared  the  Washington  influences 
that  had  always  been  most  heavily  felt  in  the  army 
covering  the  capital.  General  Sherman,  never 
afraid  of  anything  else,  was  always  in  mortal  terror 
of  politicians.  Grant  appears  not  to  have  feared 
even  the  politicians ;  for  he  promptly  fixed  his 
headquarters  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  ;  thus 
placing  himself  where,  on  the  one  hand,  he  could 
withstand  interference  that  might  thwart  the  opera 
tions  of  a  subordinate,  and  where  on  the  other  he 


366  THE    GRAND    CAMPAIGN.  [1864. 

would  personally  conduct  the  campaign  against 
the  strongest  army  of  the  Confederacy  and  its 
most  trusted  leader. 

He  planned  a  campaign  in  which  he  considered 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  his  centre  ;  the  Army  of 
the  James,  under  General  Butler,  his  left  wing  ; 
the  Western  armies,  now  commanded  by  Sherman, 
his  right  wing;  and  the  army  under  Banks  in 
Louisiana  a  force  operating  in  the  rear  of  the 
enemy.  In  its  great  features,  the  plan  was  this: 
that  all  should  move  simultaneously  —  Butler 
against  Petersburg,  to  seize  the  southern  commu 
nications  of  the  Confederate  capital ;  Sherman 
against  Johnston's  army  (then  at  Dalton,  Georgia), 
to  defeat  and  destroy  it,  if  possible,  or  at  least  to 
force  it  back  and  capture  Atlanta  with  its  work 
shops  and  important  communications  ;  Banks  to 
set  out  on  an  expedition  toward  Mobile,  to  cap 
ture  that  city  and  close  its  harbor  to  blockade- 
runners  ;  Sigel  to  drive  back  the  Confederate 
force  in  the  Shenandoah  valley,  and  prevent  that 
fertile  region  from  being  used  any  longer  as  a 
Confederate  granary  ;  while  the  Army  of  the  Po 
tomac,  taking  Lee's  army  for  its  objective,  should 
follow  it  wherever  it  went,  fighting  and  flanking  it 
until  it  should  be  captured  or  dispersed. 

South  of  the  Rapidan  is  a  peculiar  region  twelve 
or  fifteen  miles  square,  known  as  the  Wilderness. 
Some  of  the  earliest  iron-works  in  the  country 
were  here,  and  much  of  the  ground  was  dug  over 
for  the  ore,  while  the  woods  were  cut  off  to  sup 
ply  fuel  for  the  furnaces.  A  thick  second  growth 


1864.]  POSITION    OF    THE    ARMIES.  367 

sprang  up,  with  tangled  underbrush,  the  mines 
were  deserted,  the  furnaces  went  to  decay,  and 
the  whole  region  was  desolate,  save  a  roadside 

o 

tavern  or  two  and  here  and  there  a  little  clearing. 
Chancellorsville,  where  a  great  battle  was  fought 
in  May,  1863,  was  upon  the  eastern  edge  of  this 
Wilderness.  The  bulk  of  Lee's  army  was  now 
(May,  1864)  upon  its  western  edge,  with  a  line  of 
observation  along  the  Rapidan,  and  head-quarters 
at  Orange  Court-House.  The  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac  was  north  of  the  Rapidan,  opposite  the  Wil 
derness,  where  it  had  lain  since  November,  when 
it  had  crossed  to  the  south  side  with  the  purpose 
of  attacking  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 
but  found  it  too  strongly  intrenched  along 
Mine  Run,  and  so  recrossed  and  went  into 
winter  quarters.  It  was  now  organized  in  three 
infantry  corps,  the  Second,  Fifth,  and  Sixth  — 
commanded  respectively  by  Generals  Winfield 
S.  Hancock,  Gouverneur  K.  Warren,  and  John 
Sedgwick  —  and  a  cavalry  corps  commanded  by 
General  Philip  H.  Sheridan  ;  General  George  G. 
Meade  being  still  in  command  of  the  whole. 
Burnside's  corps,  the  Ninth,  nearly  twenty  thou 
sand  strong,  was  at  Annapolis,  and  nobody  but 
General  Grant  knew  its  destination.  President 
Lincoln  and  his  Cabinet  thought  it  was  to  be  sent 
on  some  duty  down  the  coast ;  and  so  perhaps  did 
the  enemy.  Grant  knew  too  well  that  there  was  a 
leak  somewhere  in  Washington,  through  which 
every  Government  secret  escaped  to  the  Confeder 
ates  ;  and  he  therefore  delayed  till  the  last  moment 


368  THE    RELATIVE    NUMBERS.  [1864. 

the  movement  of  Burnside's  corps  to  a  point  from 
which  it  could  follow  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
across  the  Rapidan  within  twenty-four  hours. 

The  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  consisted  of 
two  infantry  corps,  commanded  by  Generals  Rich 
ard  S.  Ewell  and  Ambrose  P.  Hill,  with  a  cavalry 
corps  commanded  by  General  James  E.  B.  Stuart ; 
the  whole  commanded  by  General  Robert  E.  Lee  ; 
while,  as  an  offset  to  Burnside's  corps,  General 
James  Longstreet's  was  within  call.  The  exact 
number  of  men  in  either  army  cannot  be  told,  as 
reports  and  authorities  differ  ;  nor  can  the  approxi 
mate  numbers  be  mentioned  fairly,  unless  with  an 
explanation.  The  method  of  counting  for  the 
official  reports  was  different  in  the  two  armies. 
In  the  National  army,  a  report  that  a  certain 
number  of  men  were  present  for  duty  included 
every  man  that  was  borne  on  the  pay-rolls,  whether 
officer,  soldier,  musician,  teamster,  cook,  or  me 
chanic,  and  also  all  that  had  been  sent  away  on 
special  duty,  guarding  trains  and  the  like.  This 
was  necessary,  because  they  were  all  paid  regu 
larly,  and  the  money  had  to  be  accounted  for.  In 
the  Confederate  army  there  was  no  pay  worth 
speaking  of,  and  the  principal  object  of  a  morning 
report  was  to  show  the  exact  effective  force  availa 
ble  that  day  ;  accordingly,  the  Confederate  re 
ports  included  only  the  men  actually  bearing  mus 
kets  or  sabres,  or  handling  the  artillery.  Counted 
in  this  way,  Lee  had  sixty  thousand  or  perhaps 
sixty-five  thousand  men  —  for  exact  reports  are 
wanting,  even  on  that  basis.  If  counted  after  the 


1864.] 


THE    WILDERNESS    BATTLE-FIELD. 


369 


fashion  in  the  National  army,  his  men  numbered 
about  eighty  thousand.     Grant  puts  his  own  num 


bers,  everything  included,  at  one  hundred  and  six 
teen  thousand,  and  thinks  the  preponderance  was 
fully  offset  by  the  fact  that  the  enemy  was  on  the 


370  GRANT    CROSSES    THE    RAPIDAN.  [1864. 

defensive,  seldom  leaving  his  intrenchments,  in  a 
country  admirably  suited  for  defence,  and  with  the 
population  friendly  to  him.  As  each  side  received 
reinforcements  from  time  to  time  about  equal  to 
its  losses,  the  two  armies  may  be  considered  as 
having,  throughout  the  campaign  from  the  Rapi- 
dan  to  the  James,  the  strength  just  stated. 

It  was  clearly  set  forth  by  General  Grant  at  the 
outset  that  the  true  objective  was  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia.  In  that  lay  the  chief  strength 
of  the  Confederacy  ;  while  that  stood,  the  Confed 
eracy  would  stand,  whether  in  Richmond  or  out  of 
it  ;  when  that  fell,  the  Confederacy  would  fall. 
To  follow  that  army  wherever  it  went,  fight  it,  and 
destroy  it,  was  the  task  that  lay  before  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  ;  and  every  man  in  the  army,  as 
well  as  most  men  in  the  country,  knew  it  was  a 
task  that  could  be  accomplished  only  through  im 
mense  labor  and  loss  of  life,  hard  marching,  heavy 
fighting,  and  all  manner  of  suffering. 

The  intention  was  to  have  the  simultaneous 
movement  of  all  the  armies  begin  as  near  the  ist 
of  May  as  possible.  It  actually  began  at  midnight 
of  the  3d,  when  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  set 
in  motion  and  crossed  the  Rapidan,  which  is  there 
about  two  hundred  feet  wide,  on  five  pontoon 
bridges  near  Germania,  Culpeper  Mine,  and  Ely's 
fords.  On  crossing,  it  plunged  at  once  into  the 
Wilderness,  which  is  here  traversed  from  north  to 
south  by  two  roads,  a  mile  or  two  apart.  And 
these  roads  are  crossed  by  two — the  Orange  turn 
pike  and  Orange  plank  road  —  running  nearly  east 


1864.]  IN   THE   WILDERNESS.  371 

and  west.  Besides  these,  there  are  numerous 
cross-roacls  and  wood-paths.  It  would  have  been 
easy  for  the  army  to  pass  through  this  wooded 
tract  in  a  very  few  hours,  and  deploy  in  the  open 
country  ;  but  the  supply  and  ammunition  train  con 
sisted  of  four  thousand  wagons,  and  the  reserve 
artillery  of  more  than  one  hundred  guns  —  all  of 
which  must  be  protected  by  keeping  the  army  be 
tween  them  and  the  enemy.  Consequently  the 
troops  remained  in  the  Wilderness  during  the 
whole  of  the  4th,  while  the  long  procession  was 
filing  across  the  bridges  and  stretching  away  on  the 
easternmost  roads.  And  after  this  the  bridges 
themselves  were  taken  up.  Grant's  headquarters 
that  night  were  at  the  old  Wilderness  Tavern,  on 
the  Orange  turnpike,  near  the  intersection  of  the 
road  from  Germania  ford.  It  had  been  supposed 
that  Lee  would  either  dispute  the  passage  of  the 
river,  or  (as  he  had  done  on  previous  occasions) 
await  attack  on  some  chosen  ground  that  was 
suitable  for  fighting.  As  he  had  not  disputed  the 
passage,  the  army  now  expected  to  march  out 
of  the  Wilderness  the  next  day,  thus  turning  the 
enemy's  right  flank,  and  placing  itself  between  him 
and  his  capital. 

But  Grant  kept  pickets  out  on  all  the  roads  to 
the  west  ;  and  it  cannot  be  said  that  he  was  sur 
prised,  though  he  was  probably  disappointed,  when 
he  found  his  lines  attacked  on  the  morning  of  the 
5th.  The  movement  was  believed  at  first  to  be 
only  a  feint,  intended  to  keep  the  Army  of  the  Po 
tomac  in  the  Wilderness,  while  the  bulk  of  the 


372  THE    FIRST    DAYS    BATTLE.  [1864. 

enemy  should  slip  by  to  the  south  and  take  up  a 
position  covering  the  approach  to  Richmond.  But 
it  was  developed  rapidly,  and  it  soon  became  evi 
dent  that  the  Confederate  commander  had  resorted 
to  the  bold  device  of  launching  his  whole  army 
down  the  two  parallel  roads,  with  the  purpose  of 
striking  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  when  it  was  ill- 
prepared  to  receive  battle.  Under  some  cir 
cumstances  he  would  thus  have  gained  a  great  ad 
vantage  ;  as  it  was,  the  army  was  clear  of  the  river, 
with  all  its  trains  safe  in  the  rear,  was  reasonably 
well  together,  had  had  a  night's  rest,  and  was  not 
in  any  proper  sense  surprised.  Hancock's  corps, 
which  had  the  lead  and  was  marching  out  of  the 
Wilderness,  was  quickly  recalled,  Burnside's  was 
hurried  up  from  the  rear,  and  a  line  of  battle  was 
formed  —  so  far  as  there  could  be  any  line  of  bat 
tle  in  a  jungle.  Neither  artillery  nor  cavalry 
could  be  used  to  any  extent  by  either  side,  and  the 
contest  was  little  more  than  a  murdering-match 
between  two  bodies  of  men,  each  individual  hav 
ing  a  musket  in  his  hand,  and  being  unable  to  see 
more  than  a  few  of  his  nearest  neighbors.  This 
went  on  all  day,  increasing  hourly  as  more  of  the 
troops  came  into  position,  with  no  real  advan 
tage  to  either  side  when  night  fell  upon  the  gloomy 
forest,  already  darkened  by  smoke  that  there  was 
no  breeze  to  waft  away.  Lee's  attack  had  been 
vigorous  on  his  left,  but  imperfect  on  his  right, 
where  Longstreet's  corps  did  not  get  up  in  time 
to  participate  in  the  fighting  that  day.  No  sooner 
had  the  battle  ended  than  both  sides  began  to  in- 


1864.]  THE    SECOND    DAYS    BATTLE.  373 

trench  for  the  struggle  of  the  morrow,  and  they 
could  hear  the  sound  of  each  other's  axes,  only  a 
few  rods  distant,  as  they  worked  through  the  night, 
cutting  down  trees,  piling  up  logs  for  breastworks, 
and  digging  the  customary  trench. 

Grant  intended  to  take  the  initiative  on  the 
morning  of  the  6th,  and  gave  orders  for  an  at 
tack  at  five  o'clock.  But  Lee,  who  did  not  want 
the  real  battle  of  the  day  to  begin  till  Longstreet's 
corps  should  be  in  place  on  his  right,  attacked 
with  his  left  at  a  still  earlier  hour.  Grant  recog 
nized  this  as  a  feint,  and  went  on  with  his  purpose 
of  attacking  the  enemy's  right  before  Longstreet 
should  come  up.  This  work  devolved  upon  Han 
cock's  corps,  which  as  usual  was  ready  to  advance 
at  the  hour  named  ;  but  just  then  came  rumors  of  a 
flank  movement  by  Longstreet,  and  Hancock,  de 
taching  troops  to  meet  it,  greatly  weakened  the 
blow  he  was  ordered  to  deliver.  This  was  all  a 
mistake,  as  there  was  no  enemy  in  that  direction, 
save  Rosser's  Confederate  cavalry,  which  Sheri 
dan's  defeated  that  day  in  three  encounters.  But 
Hancock's  advance  was  powerful  enough  to  drive 
the  enemy  before  him  for  more  than  a  mile.  At 
that  juncture  Longstreet  came  up,  the  broken 
Confederate  line  rallied  on  his  corps,  and 
Hancock  was  in  turn  driven  back.  Here  the 
fighting  was  stubborn,  and  the  losses  heavy.  Gen 
eral  James  S.  Wadsworth,  one  of  the  most  pat 
riotic  men  in  the  service,  was  mortally  wounded 
and  died  within  the  Confederate  lines.  The  Con 
federate  General  Jenkins  was  killed,  and  Long- 


374          THE    STRUGGLE    IN    HANCOCKS    FRONT.         [1864. 

street  was  seriously  wounded  in  almost  exactly  the 
same  way  that  Stonewall  Jackson  had  been,  a  year 
and  three  days  before,  on  nearly  the  same  ground. 
As  he  was  returning  from  the  front  with  his  staff, 
some  of  his  own  men  mistook  them  for  National 
cavalry,  and  fired  upon  them.  Longstreet  was 
shot  through  the  neck  and  shoulder,  and  had  to  be 
carried  from  the  field.  His  men  had  been  thrown 
into  great  confusion,  and  General  Lee,  who  now 
took  command  of  them  in  person,  found  it  impos 
sible  to  rally  them  for  an  attack  on  Hancock's  in- 
trenchments,  or  at  least  deferred  the  attack  that 
had  been  planned.  But  late  in  the  afternoon  such 
an  assault  was  made,  and  met  with  a  little  tempo 
rary  success.  The  Confederates  burst  through 
the  line  at  one  point,  but  were  soon  driven  back 
again  with  heavy  loss.  At  this  time  a  fire  broke 
out  in  Hancock's  front,  and  soon  his  log  breast 
works  were  burning.  His  men  were  forced  back 
by  the  heat,  but  continued  firing  at  their  enemy 
through  the  flame.  Large  numbers  of  the  dead 
and  wounded  were  still  lying  where  they  fell,  scat 
tered  over  the  belt  of  ground,  nearly  a  mile  wide, 
where  the  tide  of  battle  had  swayed  back  and  forth, 
and  an  unknown  number  of  the  wounded  perished 
by  the  fire  and  smoke.  Burnside  had  come  into 
line  during  the  day,  and  fighting  had  been  kept 
up  along  the  entire  front,  but  it  was  nowhere  so 
fierce  as  on  the  left  or  southern  end  of  the  line, 
where  each  commander  was  trying  to  double  up 
the  other's  flank.  At  night  the  Confederates  with 
drew  to  their  intrenchments,  and  from  that  time 


1864.]  THE    LOSSES.  375 

till  the  end  of  the  campaign  they  seldom  showed 
a  disposition  to  leave  them. 

The  losses  in  this  great  two-days  battle  cannot 
be  stated  accurately.  The  best  authorities  vary 
as  to  the  National  loss,  from  fewer  than  fourteen 
thousand  —  killed,  wounded,  and  missing — to 
about  fifteen  thousand  four  hundred.  As  to  the 
Confederate  loss,  the  figures  can  only  be  made  up 
from  partial  reports,  estimates,  and  inferences. 
According  to  these,  it  did  not  differ  materially 
from  the  National  loss,  and  in  the  circumstances 
of  the  battle  there  was  no  reason  for  thinking  it 
would.  Among  the  officers  lost,  besides  those 
already  mentioned,  were,  on  the  National  side, 
General  Alexander  Hays  killed  ;  Generals  Getty, 
Baxter,  and  McAllister,  and  Colonels  Carroll  and 
Keifer  wounded;  and  Generals  Seymour  and 
Shaler  captured  ;  on  the  Confederate  side,  Gen 
erals  Pegram  and  Benning  wounded. 

If  General  Lee  supposed  that  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  after  a  sudden  blow  and  a  bloody  battle, 
would  turn  about  and  go  home  to  repair  damages 
—  as  it  had  been  in  the  habit  of  doing  —  he  omitted 
from  his  calculation  the  fact  that  it  was  now  led 
by  a  soldier  who  never  did  anything  of  the  sort. 
Indeed,  he  is  reported  to  have  said  to  his  lieuten 
ants,  after  this  costly  experiment,  "  Gentlemen,  at 
last  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  has  a  head."  Tact 
ically,  it  had  been  a  drawn  battle.  Grant  accounts 
it  a  victory,  which  he  says  "  consisted  in  having 
successfully  crossed  a  formidable  stream,  almost 
in  the  face  of  an  enemy,  and  in  getting  the  army 


FORWARD    BY    THE    LEFT    FLANK.  [1864. 

together  as  a  unit."  It  was  also  a  National  victory, 
in  a  certain  dismal  sense,  from  the  fact  that  in 
changing  off  man  for  man  to  the  extent  of  twelve 
or  fifteen  thousand  that  had  been  done  which  the 
enemy  could  least  afford. 

There  was  no  fighting  on  the  yth  except  a  cav 
alry  engagement  at  Todd's  Tavern,  by  which 
Sheridan  cleared  the  road  for  the  southward 
movement  of  the  army ;  and  in  the  afternoon 
Grant  gave  the  order  to  move  by  the  left  flank 
toward  Spottsylvania.  One  who  would  perhaps 
be  recognized  as  the  highest  of  living  military 
authorities  says,  in  a  private  letter,  "  It  was  then 
probably  that  General  Grant  best  displayed  his 
greatness.  Forward  by  the  left  flank  !  —  that  set 
tled  that  campaign." 

Grant's  general  purpose  was  to  place  his  army 
between  the  enemy  and  Richmond,  interfering  with 
the  communications  and  compelling  Lee  to  fight 
at  disadvantage.  The  immediate  purpose  was  a 
rapid  march  to  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  fifteen 
miles  southeast  of  the  Wilderness  battle-field,  and 
a  dozen  miles  southwest  of  Fredericksburg,  to 
take  a  strong  position  covering  the  roads  that 
radiate  from  that  point.  Warren's  corps  was 
to  take  the  advance,  marching  by  the  Brock  road, 
to  be  followed  by  Hancock's  on  the  same  road. 
Sedgwick's  and  Burnside's  were  to  take  a  route 
farther  north,  through  Chancellorsville.  The 
trains  were  put  in  motion  on  Saturday,  May  7, 
and  Warren  began  his  march  at  nine  o'clock  that 
evening.  To  withdraw  an  army  in  this  manner, 


1864.] 


SPOTTSYLVANIA    BATTLE-FIELD. 


377 


in  the  presence  of  a  powerful  enemy,  and  send  it 
forward  to  a  new  position,  is  a  difficult  and  deli 
cate  task,  as  it  may  be  attacked  after  it  has  left  the 
old  position  and  before  it  has  gained  the  new. 
The  method  adopted  by  General  Grant  was  re 


peated  in  each  of  his  flanking1  movements  between 
the  Wilderness  and  the  James.  It  consisted  in 
withdrawing  the  corps  that  held  his  right  flank, 
and  passing  it  behind  the  others  while  they  main 
tained  their  position.  Four  small  rivers  rise  in 
this  region — the  Mat,  the  Ta,  the  Po,  and  the  Ny 
—  which  unite  to  form  the  Mattapony.  Spottsyl- 
vania  Court  House  is  on  the  ridge  between  the 
Po  and  the  Ny.  The  country  around  it  is  heavily 
wooded,  and  somewhat  broken  by  ravines. 

The  distances  that  the  two  armies  had  to  march 


378  THE    MARCH    TO    SPOTTSYLVANIA.  [1884. 

to  reach  Spottsylvania  Court  House  were  very 
nearly  the  same  ;  if  there  was  any  difference,  it 
favored  the  National ;  but  two  unforeseen  circum 
stances  determined  the  race  and  the  form  of  the 
ensuing  battle.  The  Brock  road  was  occupied  by 
a  detachment  of  Confederate  cavalry,  and  War 
ren's  corps  stood  still  while  the  National  cavalry 
undertook  to  clear  the  way.  This  was  not  done 
easily,  and  the  road  was  further  obstructed  where 
the  Confederates  had  felled  trees  across  it.  After 
precious  time  had  been  lost,  Warren's  corps  went 
forward  and  cleared  the  way  for  itself.  The  other 
circumstance  was  more  purely  fortuitous.  Ander 
son's  division  of  Longstreet's  corps  led  the  Con 
federate  advance,  and  Anderson  had  his  orders  to 
begin  the  march  early  on  Sunday  morning,  the  8th. 
But  from  the  burning  of  the  woods  he  found  no 
suitable  ground  for  bivouac,  and  consequently 
marched  all  night.  The  National  cavalry  were 
in  Spottsylvania  Court  House  Sunday  morning, 
and  found  there  but  a  slight  force  of  cavalry, 
easily  brushed  away  ;  but  they  had  to  retire  before 
the  Confederate  infantry  when  Anderson  came 
down  the  road.  Consequently,  %when  Warren 
came  within  sight  of  the  Court  House,  he  found 
the  same  old  foe  intrenched  in  his  front.  Still,  if 
Hancock  had  come  up  promptly,  the  works  might 
have  been  carried  by  a  rapid  movement,  and  held 
till  the  army  should  be  where  Grant  wanted  it,  in 
position  between  the  enemy  and  their  capital. 
But  Hancock  had  been  held  back,  because  of 
apprehensions  that  the  Confederates  would  make 


1864.]  ENGAGEMENT    AT    YELLOW    TAVERN.  3/9 

a  heavy  attack  upon  the  rear  of  the  moving  col 
umns.  So  the  remainder  of  Longstreet's  corps, 
and  finally  all  of  Lee's  troops,  poured  into  the 
rude  sylvan  fortress,  and  once  more  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  stood  at  bay. 

At  this  point  of  time,  May  8,  Grant  sent 
Sheridan  with  his  cavalry  to  do  to  the  Confederate 
army  what  in  previous  campaigns  its  cavalry  had 
twice  done  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  —  to  ride 
entirely  around  it,  tearing  up  railroads,  destroying 
bridges  and  depots,  and  capturing  trains.  Sheri 
dan  set  out  to  execute  his  orders  with  the  energy 
and  skill  for  which  he  was  becoming  famous.  He 
destroyed  ten  miles  of  railroad  and  several  trains 
of  cars,  cut  all  the  telegraph  wires,  and  recaptured 
four  hundred  prisoners  who  had  been  taken  in  the 
battle  of  the  Wilderness  and  were  on  their  way  to 
Richmond.  As  soon  as  it  was  known  which  way 
he  had  gone,  the  Confederate  cavalry  set  out  to 
intercept  him,  and  by  hard  riding  got  between  him 
and  Richmond.  Sheridan's  troops  met  them  at 
Yellow  Tavern,  seven  miles  north  of  the  city,  and 
after  a  hard  fight  defeated  and  dispersed  them, 
General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  the  ablest  cavalry  leader 
in  the  Confederacy,  being  mortally  wounded. 
Sheridan  dashed  through  the  outer  defences  of 
Richmond,  and  took  some  prisoners,  but  found 
the  inner  ones  too  strong  for  him.  He  then 
crossed  the  Chickahominy,  and  rejoined  the  army 
on  the  25th. 

As  the  National  army  came  into  position  before 
the  intrenchments  of  Spottsylvania,  Hancock's 


380  FALL   OF    GENERAL    SEDGWICK.  [1864. 

corps  had  the  extreme  right,  or  western  end  of  the 
line ;  then  came  Warren's,  then  Sedgwick's,  and 
on  the  extreme  left  Burnside's.  While  Sedg 
wick's  men  were  placing  their  batteries,  they  were 
annoyed  by  sharpshooters,  one  of  whom,  appar 
ently  posted  in  a  tree,  seemed  to  be  an  unerring 
marksman.  He  is  said  to  have  destroyed  twenty 
lives  that  day.  The  men  naturally  shrank  back 
from  their  work  ;  when  General  Sedgwick,  coming 
up,  expostulated  with  them,  remarking  that  "  they 
could  n't  hit  an  elephant  at  this  distance."  As  he 
stepped  forward  to  the  works,  a  bullet  struck  him 
in  the  face,  and  he  fell  dead.  In  his  fall  the  army 
lost  one  of  its  best  soldiers,  and  the  country  one 
of  its  purest  patriots.  Sedgwick  had  been  offered 
higher  command  than  he  held,  but  had  firmly  de 
clined  it,  from  a  modest  estimate  of  his  own  pow 
ers.  General  Horatio  G.  Wright  succeeded  him 
in  the  command  of  the  Sixth  Corps. 

On  the  evening  of  the  Qth,  Hancock's  corps 
moved  to  the  right,  with  a  view  to  flanking  and 
attacking  the  Confederate  left,  and  made  a  recon- 
noissance  at  the  point  where  the  road  from  Shady 
Grove  church  crosses  the  Po  on  a  wooden  bridge. 
A  brigade  of  Barlow's  division  laid  down  bridges 
and  crossed  the  stream,  but  was  confronted  by 
intrenchments  manned  by  a  portion  of  Early's 
corps.  It  was  now  seen  that  the  Confederate  left 
rested  on  the  stream  at  a  point  above,  so  that 
Hancock  by  crossing  would  only  have  isolated 
himself  from  the  rest  of  the  army  and  invited  de 
struction.  But  before  he  could  withdraw  Barlow, 


rU!TIVEESIT7 

1864.1  THE    SALIENT    AT    SPOTTSYLVANIA.  381 

the  enemy  sallied  out  from  their  intrenchments 
and  attacked  that  brigade  in  heavy  force.  The 
assault  was  met  with  steady  courage  and  repelled 
with  considerable  loss  to  Barlow,  but  with  much 
greater  loss  to  the  assailants.  After  a  short  inter 
val,  the  experiment  was  renewed,  with  precisely 
the  same  result ;  and  Barlow  then  re-crossed, 
under  cover  of  a  supporting  column,  and  took  up 
his  bridges. 

The  weak  point  in  the  Confederate  line  was  the 
salient  at  the  northern  point  of  their  intrench- 
ment.  A  salient  is  weak  because  almost  any  fire  di 
rected  against  it  becomes  an  enfilading  fire  for  one 
or  another  part  of  it.  But  the  National  army  were 
not  up  in  balloons,  looking  down  upon  the  earth  as 
a  map  ;  and  they  could  only  learn  the  shape  of  the 
Confederate  intrenchments  after  traversing  thick 
woods,  following  out  by-paths,  and  scrambling 
through  dark  ravines.  As  soon  as  "the  salient  was 
discovered,  preparations  were  made  for  assaulting 
it.  The  storming  party  consisted  of  twelve  regi 
ments  of  Wright's  corps,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Emory  Upton,  .and  was  to  be  supported  by  Mott's 
division  of  Hancock's,  while  at  the  same  time  the 
remainder  of  Wright's  and  all  of  Warren's  corps 
were  to  advance  and  take  advantage  of  any  oppor 
tunity  that  should  be  made  for  them.  While  a 
heavy  battery  was  firing  rapidly  at  the  salient  and 
enfilading  one  of  its  sides,  Upton's  men  formed 
under  cover  of  the  woods,  near  the  enemy's  line, 
and  the  instant  the  battery  ceased  firing,  about 
six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  burst  out  with  a  cheer, 


382  UPTON'S    CHARGE.  [1864. 

swept  over  the  works  after  a  short  hand-to-hand 
fight,  and  captured  more  than  a  thousand  prison 
ers,  and  a  few  guns.  Mott,  forming  in  open 
ground,  did  not  move  so  promptly,  suffered  more 
from  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  and  effected  nothing. 
Warren's  corps  moved  forward,  but  was  driven 
back  with  heavy  loss.  In  a  second  assault,  they 
reached  the  breastworks  and  captured  them  after 
fierce  fighting,  but  were  not  able  to  hold  them 
when  strong  Confederate  reinforcements  came 
up,  and  retired  again.  Upton,  who  had  broken 
through  a  second  line  of  intrenchments,  seemed  to 
have  opened  a  way  for  the  destruction  of  the  Con 
federate  army ;  but  the  difficulties  of  the  ground 
and  the  lateness  of  the  hour  made  it  impracticable 
to  follow  up  the  advantage  by  pouring  a  whole 
corps  through  the  gap  and  taking  everything  in 
reverse.  After  dark,  Upton's  men  withdrew, 
bringing  the  prisoners  and  the  captured  battle- 
flags,  but  leaving  the  guns  behind.  For  this  ex 
ploit,  in  which  he  was  severely  wounded,  Colonel 
Upton  was  made  a  brigadier-general  on  the  field. 
While  this  was  going  on,  Burnside,  at  the  extreme 
left  of  the  line,  had  obtained  a  good  position  from 
which  he  could  have  assaulted  advantageously  the 
Confederate  right,  which  he  overlapped.  But  this 
was  not  perceived,  and  as  there  was  a  dangerous 
gap  between  his  corps  and  Wright's,  he  was  drawn 
back  in  the  night,  and  the  advantage  was  lost. 

On  the  nth  it  rained  heavily,  and  there  was  no 
fighting  ;  but  there  were  reconnoissances  and  prep 
arations  for  a  renewal  of  the  battle  on  the  next 


1864.]  HANCOCK    CARRIES   THE   SALIENT.  383 

day.  Grant  determined  to  make  a  heavier  and 
more  persistent  assault  upon  the  tempting  salient, 
and  moved  Hancock's  corps  by  a  wood-road,  after 
dark,  to  a  point  opposite  the  apex.  The  morning 
of  the  1 2th  was  foggy,  but  by  half-past  four 
o'clock  it  was  light  enough,  and  Hancock's  men 
advanced,  some  of  them  passing  through  thickets 
of  dead  pines.  When  they  were  half-way  across 
the  open  ground  in  front  of  the  salient,  they  burst 
into  a  wild  cheer  and  rushed  for  the  works.  Here 
they  were  met  by  a  brave  and  determined  resist 
ance  on  the  part  of  the  half-surprised  Confeder 
ates,  who  fought  irregularly  with  clubbed  muskets. 
But  nothing  could  resist  the  impetus  of  Hancock's 
corps,  which  was  over  the  breastworks  in  a  few 
seconds.  Large  numbers  of  Confederates  were 
killed,  mostly  with  the  bayonet.  So  sudden  was 
Hancock's  irruption  into  the  enemy's  works,  that 
he  captured  General  Edward  Johnson's  entire 
division  of  nearly  four  thousand  men,  with  its 
commander  and  also  Brigadier-General  Steuart. 
"How  are  you,  Steuart?"  said  Hancock,  recog 
nizing  in  his  prisoner  an  old  army  friend,  and 
extending  his  hand.  "  I  am  General  Steuart,  of 
the  Confederate  army,"  was  the  reply,  "  and  under 
the  circumstances  I  decline  to  take  your  hand." 
"Under  any  other  circumstances,"  said  Hancock 
quietly,  "  I  should  not  have  offered  it."  Han 
cock's  men  had  also  captured  twenty  guns,  with 
their  horses  and  caissons,  thousands  of  small 
arms,  and  thirty  battle-flags.  The  guns  were  im 
mediately  turned  upon  the  enemy,  who  was  fol- 


384      THE    BLOODIEST    FIGHTING    IN    THE    WAR.        [1864. 

lowed  through  the  woods  toward  Spottsylvania 
Court  House  till  the  pursuers  ran  up  against 
another  line  of  intrenchments,  which  had  been 
constructed  in  the  night  across  the  base  of  the 
salient.  At  the  same  time  that  Hancock  assaulted 
at  the  apex,  Warren  and  Burnside  had  assaulted 
at  the  sides,  but  with  less  success,  though  their 
men  reached  the  breastworks. 

Lee  understood  too  well  the  danger  of  having 
his  line  thus  ruptured  at  the  centre,  and  poured 
his  men  into  the  salient  with  a  determination  to 
retake  it,  for  which  some  of  his  critics  have  cen 
sured  him.  Hancock's  men,  when  the  pressure 
became  too  great  for  them,  fell  back  slowly  to  the 
outer  intrenchmants,  and  turning  used  them  as 
their  own.  Five  times  the  Confederates  attacked 
these  in  heavy  masses,  and  five  times  they  were 
repelled  with  bloody  loss.  Before  they  had  been 
at  disadvantage  from  defending  a  salient,  and  now 
they  were  at  equal  disadvantage  in  assailing  a 
reentrant  angle.  To  add  to  the  slaughter,  Han 
cock  had  established  several  batteries  on  high 
ground,  where  they  could  fire  over  the  heads  of 
his  own  men  and  strike  the  enemy  beyond.  Here 
and  along  the  west  face  of  the  angle  the  fighting 
was  kept  up  all  day,  and  was  most  desperate  and 
destructive.  Field  guns  were  run  up  close  to  the 
works  and  fired  into  the  masses  of  Confederate 
troops  within  the  salient,  creating  terrible  havoc ; 
but  in  turn  the  horses  and  gunners  were  certain 
to  be  shot  down.  There  was  hand-to-hand  fight 
ing  over  the  breastworks,  and  finally  the  men  of 


1864.]  CARNAGE    AT    THE    SALIENT.  385 

the  two  armies  were  crouching  on  either  side  of 
them,  shooting  and  stabbing  through  the  crevices 
between  the  logs.  Sometimes  one  would  mount 
upon  the  works  and  have  loaded  muskets  passed 
up  to  him  rapidly,  which  he  would  fire  in  quick 
succession  till  the  certain  bullet  came  that  was  to 
end  his  career,  and  he  tumbled  into  the  ditch.  In 
several  instances  men  were  pulled  over  the  breast 
works  and  made  prisoners.  One  doughty  but 
diminutive  Georgian  officer  nearly  died  of  morti 
fication  when  a  huge  Wisconsin  colonel  reached 
over,  seized  him  by  the  collar,  and  in  a  twinkling 
jerked  him  out  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Confed 
eracy  and  into  that  of  the  United  States.  The 
fighting  around  the  "  death-angle,"  as  the  soldiers 
called  it,  was  kept  up  till  past  midnight,  when  the 
Confederates  finally  withdrew  to  their  interior  line. 
The  dead  were  not  only  literally  piled  in  heaps, 
but  their  bodies  were  terribly  torn  and  mangled  by 
the  shot.  Every  tree  and  bush  was  cut  down  or 
killed  by  the  balls,  and  in  one  instance  the  body 
of  an  oak  tree  nearly  two  feet  in  diameter  was 
completely  cut  through  by  bullets,  and  in  falling 
injured  several  men  of  a  South  Carolina  regiments 
Not  even  Sickles's  salient  at  Gettysburg  had  been 
so  fatal  as  this.  If  courage  were  all  that  a  nation 
required,  there  was  courage  enough  at  Spottsylva- 
nia,  on  either  side  of  the  intrenchments,  to  have 
made  a  nation  out  of  every  State  in  the  Union. 

It  was  extremely  difficult  for  either  side  to  res 
cue  or  care  for  any  of  the  wounded.  A  note  from 
Colonel  Leander  W.  Cogswell,  of  the  gth  New 


386  INCIDENTS    IN    FRONT    AND    REAR.  [1864. 

Hampshire  regiment,  gives  a  suggestive  incident : 
"  During  the  night  of  the  i3th,  as  officer  of  the 
day,  I  was  ordered  to  take  a  detail  of  men  from 
our  brigade  and  if  possible  find  the  dead  bodies  of 
members  of  the  Qth  regiment.  We  went  over  the 
intrenchments  and  into  that  terrible  darkness,  un 
der  orders  '  to  strike  not  a  match,  nor  speak  above 
a  whisper.'  When  near  the  spot  where  they  fell, 
we  crawled  upon  our  hands  and  knees,  and  felt 
for  the  dead  ones,  and  in  this  manner  suc 
ceeded  in  finding  upwards  of  twenty,  and  con 
veyed  them  within  our  lines,  where,  with  a  few 
others,  they  were  buried  the  next  morning  in 
one  trench." 

Thus  far  we  have  looked  only  at  what  was  go 
ing  on  in  front.  A  few  sentences  from  the  diary 
of  Chaplain  Alanson  A.  Haines,  of  the  I5th  New 
Jersey  regiment,  will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of 
the  rear  at  Spottsylvania  :  "  With  Dr.  Hall,  our 
good  and  brave  surgeon,  I  found  a  place  in  the 
rear,  a  little  hollow  with  grass  and  a  spring  of 
water,  where  we  made  hasty  preparations  to  re 
ceive  the  coming  wounded.  Those  that  could 
walk  soon  began  to  find  their  way  in  of  them 
selves,  and  some  few  were  helped  in  by  their  com 
rades  as  soon  as  the  charge  was  over  and  a  por 
tion  withdrawn.  It  was  a  terrible  thing  to  lay 
some  of  our  best  and  truest  men  in  a  long  row  on 
the  blankets,  waiting  their  turn  for  the  surgeon's 
care.  Some  came  with  body  wounds,  and  arms 
shattered,  and  hands  dangling.  At  ten  o'clock, 
with  the  drum  corps,  I  sought  the  regiment  to 


18G4.J  THE    LOSSES.  387 

take  off  any  of  our  wounded  we  could  find.  On  my 
way,  met  some  men  carrying  orderly-sergeant  Van 
Gilder,  mortally  wounded,  in  a  blanket.  With  his 
hand  all  blood,  he  seized  mine,  saying,  '  Chaplain, 
I  am  going.  Tell  my  wife  I  am  happy.'  At  two 
o'clock  A.M.,  I  lay  down  amid  a  great  throng  of 
poor,  bleeding  sufferers,  whose  moans  and  cries 
for  water  kept  me  awake.  At  four  o'clock  got  up 
and  had  coffee  made,  and  going  around  among  the 
wounded  found  a  Pennsylvanian  who  had  lain  at 
my  feet  dead.  At  noon  the  regiment  moved  off 
to  the  right.  I  retained  five  drummers  to  bury 
sergeants  Schenck  and  Rabadon.  A  number  of 
men  from  several  regiments  were  filling  their  can 
teens  at  the  spring.  I  asked  them  if  they  could 
come  for  a  few  moments  around  a  soldier's  grave. 
Most  of  them  came,  and  uncovered  their  heads.  I 
repeated  some  passages  of  Scripture,  and  offered  a 
short  prayer.  Drum-sergeant  Kline  filled  up  the 
grave,  nailing  to  two  posts  which  he  planted  a 
piece  of  cracker-box,  on  which  I  cut  the  names  of 
the  dead.  While  he  was  doing  this,  with  my 
other  men  I  gathered  the  muskets  and  accoutre 
ments  left  by  the  wounded.  Laying  the  muskets 
with  the  muzzle  on  a  stump,  one  heavy  stamp  of 
the  foot  bent  the  barrel,  broke  the  stock,  and 
made  the  piece  useless.  The  accoutrements  we 
heaped  together  and  threw  on  the  fire,  and  with 
hasty  steps  sought  the  regiment." 

The  National  losses  in  the  fighting  around 
Spottsylvania,  from  the  8th  to  the  2ist  of  May, 
were  thirteen  thousand  six  hundred — killed, 


388  FIGHTING    IT    OUT   ON    THIS    LINE.  [MM. 

wounded,  and  missing.  Somewhat  over  half  of 
this  loss  occurred  on  the  I2th.  There  are  no  ex 
act  statistics  of  the  Confederate  loss  ;  but  it  ap 
pears  to  have  been  ten  thousand  on  the  I2th,  and 
was  probably  about  equal  in  the  aggregate  to  the 
National  loss.  The  losses  were  heavy  in  general 
officers.  In  the  National  army,  besides  Sedgwick, 
Generals  T.  G.  Stevenson  and  J.  C.  Rice  were 
killed,  and  Generals  H.  G.  Wright  and  Alexander 
S.  Webb,  and  Colonel  Samuel  S.  Carroll  were 
wounded  ;  the  last  named  being  promoted  to  brig 
adier-general  on  the  field.  Of  the  Confederates, 
Generals  Daniel  and  Perrin  were  killed,  Generals 
R.  D.  Johnston,  McGowan,  Ramseur,  and  Walker 
wounded,  and  Generals  Edward  Johnson  and 
Steuart  captured. 

General  Grant  had  written  to  Halleck  on  the 
nth:  "We  have  now  ended  the  sixth  day  of 
very  hard  fighting.  The  result  up  to  this  time  is 
much  in  our  favor.  But  our  losses  have  been 
heavy,  as  well  as  those  of  the  enemy.  ...  I  am 
now  sending  back  to  Belle  Plain  all  my  wagons 
for  a  fresh  supply  of  provisions  and  ammuni 
tion,  and  purpose  to  fight  it  out  on  this  line  if  it 
takes  all  summer."  A  week  was  spent  in  manoeu 
vring  to  find  a  new  point  of  attack  that  promised 
success,  but  without  avail,  and  at  the  end  of  that 
time  it  was  determined  to  move  again  by  the  left 
flank.  The  movement  was  to  the  North  Anna 
river ;  again  it  was  a  race,  and  this  time  the  Con 
federates  had  the  shorter  line. 

The  distance  from  Spottsylvania  Court   House 


1864.]  MOVEMENT    TO    THE    NORTH    ANNA.  389 

to  Richmond  is  a  little  more  than  fifty  miles. 
About  midway  between  them  is  Hanover  Junction, 
where  the  railroad  from  Richmond  to  Fredericks- 
burg  is  crossed  by  the  Virginia  Central  road. 
Grant  did  not  wish  to  conceal  his  movement  al 
together.  He  was  anxious  to  induce  the  enemy 
to  fight  without  the  enormous  advantage  of  in- 
trenchments.  So  he  planned  to  send  one  corps 
toward  Richmond,  hoping  that  Lee  would  be 
tempted  to  attack  it  with  all  his  army,  whereupon 
the  other  corps  might  follow  up  sharply  and  attack 
the  Confederates  before  they  had  time  to  intrench. 
When  the  movement  was  begun,  Lee,  instead  of 
moving  at  once  in  the  same  direction,  sent  Ewell's 
corps  to  attack  the  National  right.  It  happened 
that  six  thousand  raw  recruits,  under  General  R.  O. 
Tyler,  were  on  their  way  to  reenforce  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,and  had  not  quite  reached  their  place 
in  line,  when  they  were  struck  by  Ewell's  flank 
movement.  Grant  says  they  maintained  their  po 
sition  in  a  manner  worthy  of  veterans,  till  they 
were  reenforced  by  the  divisions  of  Birney  and 
Crawford,  which  promptly  moved  up  to  the  right 
and  left,  and  Ewell  was  then  quickly  driven  back 
with  heavy  loss.  This  was  on  the  iQth  of  May. 

The  corps  thrown  forward  as  a  bait  was  Han 
cock's,  and  it  marched  on  the  night  of  the  2Oth, 
going  easterly  to  Guinea  Station,  and  then  south 
erly  to  Milford.  Warren's  corps  followed  twelve 
hours  later,  and  twelve  hours  later  still  the 
corps  of  Burnside  and  Wright.  Some  tri 
fling  resistance  was  met  by  the  advance ;  but 


3QO  THE    POSITION    ON    THE    NORTH    ANNA.         [1864. 

the  Confederates  had  no  notion  of  taking  any 
risk.  They  made  a  reconnoissance  to  their  left, 
to  be  sure  that  Grant  had  not  kept  a  corps  at  Spott- 
sylvania  to  fall  upon  their  rear,  and  then  set  out 
by  a  shorter  line  than  his  to  interpose  themselves 
once  more  between  him  and  their  capital. 

The  new  position  that  was  taken  up  after  some 
tentative  movements  was  one  of  the  strongest  that 
could  have  been  devised.  The  Confederate  left 
stretched  in  a  straight  line,  a  mile  and  a  half  long, 
from  Little  River  to  the  North  Anna  at  Oxford. 
Here,  bending  at  a  right  angle,  the  line  followed 
the  North  Anna  down  stream  for  three  quar 
ters  of  a  mile,  thence  continuing  in  a  straight  line 
southeastward,  to  and  around  Hanover  Junction. 
The  North  Anna  here  makes  a  bend  to  the  south, 
and  on  the  most  southerly  point  of  the  bend 
the  Confederate  line  touched  and  held  it.  If 
we  imagine  a  ring  cut  in  halves,  and  the  halves 
placed  back  to  back,  in  contact,and  call  one  the  line 
of  Confederate  intrenchments  and  the  other  the 
river,  we  shall  have  a  fair  representation  of  the 
essential  features  of  the  situation.  It  is  evident 
that  any  enemy  approaching  from  the  north  and 
attempting  to  envelop  this  position,  would 
have  his  own  line  twice  divided  by  the  river,  so 
that  his  army  would  be  in  three  parts.  Any 
reinforcements  passing  from  one  wing  to  the 
other  would  have  to  cross  the  stream  twice,  and 
long  before  they  could  reach  their  destination  the 
army  holding  the  intrenchments  could  strengthen 
its  threatened  wing.  The  obvious  point  to  assail 


1864.]  BY    THE    LEFT    FLANK    AGAIN.  39! 

in  such  a  position  would  be  the  apex  of  the  salient 
line  where  it  touched  the  river  ;  and  Burnside  was 
ordered  to  force  a  passage  at  that  point.  But  the 
banks  were  high  and  steep,  and  the  passage  was 
covered  by  artillery.  Moreover,  an  enfilading  fire 
from  the  north  bank  was  thwarted  by  traverses  — 
intrenchments  at  riodit  anodes  to  the  main  line. 

o  o 

Wright's  corps  crossed  the  river  above  the  Con 
federate  position,  and  destroyed  some  miles  of  the 
Virginia  Central  Railroad;  while  Hancock's  crossed 
below,  and  destroyed  a  large  section  of  the  road 
to  Fredericksburg.  By  this  time  they  had  learned 
the  effective  method  of  not  only  tearing  up  the 
track,  but  piling  up  the  ties  and  setting  them  on 
fire,  heating  the  rails,  and  bending  and  twisting 
them  so  that  they  could  not  be  used  again.  These 
operations  were  not  carried  on  without  frequent 
sharp  fighting,  which  cost  each  side  about  two 
thousand  men  ;  but  there  was  no  general  battle  on 
the  North  Anna. 

Before  the  next  flank  movement  was  made  by  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  General  James  H.  Wilson's 
cavalry  division  was  sent  to  make  a  demonstration 
on  the  right,  to  give  the  enemy  the  impression  that 
this  time  the  turning  movement  would  be  in  that 
direction.  In  the  night  of  May  26,  which  was 
very  dark,  the  army  withdrew  to  the  north  bank  of 
the  North  Anna,  took  up  its  pontoon  bridges, 
destroyed  all  the  others,  and  was  put  in  motion 
again  by  the  left  flank.  Sheridan's  cavalry  led  the 
way  and  guarded  the  crossings  of  the  Pamunkey, 
which  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  North  and 


392  ENGAGEMENT    AT    HAWES  S    SHOP.  [1864. 

South  Anna  rivers.  The  Sixth  Corps  was  the 
advance  of  the  infantry,  followed  by  the  Second, 
while  the  Fifth  and  Ninth  moved  by  roads  farther 
north.  The  direction  was  southeast,  and  the  dis 
tance  about  thirty  miles  to  a  point  at  which  the 
army  would  cross  the  Pamunkey  and  move  south 
west  toward  Richmond,  the  crossing  being  about 
twenty  miles  from  that  city.  But  between  lie  the 
swamps  of  the  Chickahominy.  In  the  morning  of 
the  28th  the  cavalry  moved  out  on  the  most  direct 
road  to  Richmond,  and  at  a  cross-roads  known  as 
Hawes's  Shop  encountered  a  strong  force  of  Con 
federate  cavalry,  which  was  dismounted  and  in 
trenched.  After  a  bloody  fight  of  some  hours' 
duration,  the  divisions  commanded  by  Generals 
David  M.  Gregg  and  George  A.  Custer  broke 
over  the  intrenchments  and  forced  back  the  enemy ; 
the  other  divisions  came  up  promptly,  and  the  po 
sition  was  held.  Soon  after  noon  of  that  day  three 
fourths  of  the  army  had  crossed  the  Pamunkey,  and 
the  remaining  corps  crossed  that  night.  Here  were 
several  roads  leading  to  the  Confederate  capital ; 
but  the  Confederate  army,  as  soon  as  it  found  the 
enemy  gone  from  its  front,  had  moved  in  the  same 
direction,  by  a  somewhat  shorter  route,  and  had 
quickly  taken  up  a  strong  position  across  all  these 
roads,  with  flanks  on  Beaver  Dam  and  Totopoto- 
moy  creeks.  Moreover,  at  this  time  it  was  heavily 
reenforced  by  troops  that  were  drawn  from  the 
defences  east  of  Richmond. 

The  next  day  the  opposing  forces  were  in  close 
proximity,  each  trying  to  find  out  what  the  other 


1864.]  THE    POSITION    AT   TOTOPOTOMOY.  393 

was  about,  and  all  day  the  crack  of  the  skirmisher's 
rifle  was  heard.  Near  Bethesda  church  there  was 
a  small  but  bloody  engagement,  where  a  portion 
of  Early's  corps  made  an  attack  on  the  National 
left  and  gained  a  brief  advantage,  but  was  soon 
driven  back,  with  a  brigade  commander  and  two 
regimental  commanders  among  its  killed.  At 
dusk,  one  brigade  of  Barlow's  division  made  a 
sudden  rush  and  carried  a  line  of  Confederate 
rifle-pits.  But  it  was  ascertained  that  the  position 
offered  no  chance  of  success  in  a  serious  assault. 
Furthermore,  Grant  was  expecting  reinforcements 
from  Butler's  Army  of  the  James,  to  come  by  way 
of  White  House,  at  the  head  of  navigation  on 
York  River,  and  he  feared  that  Lee  would  move 
out  with  a  large  part  of  his  army  to  interpose 
between  him  and  his  reinforcements  and  over 
whelm  them.  So  he  extended  his  left  toward  Cold 
Harbor,  sending  Sheridan  with  cavalry  and  artil 
lery  to  secure  that  place.  Sheridan  was  heavily 
attacked  there  on  the  morning  of  June  i,  but 
held  his  ground,  and  twice  drove  back  the  assail 
ants.  In  the  course  of  the  day  he  was  relieved  by 
the  Sixth  Corps,  to  which  the  ten  thousand  ree'n- 
forcements  under  General  William  F.  Smith  were 
added.  At  the  same  time  the  Confederate  line 
had  been  extended  in  the  same  direction,  so  as 
still  to  cover  all  roads  leading  to  Richmond.  The 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  its  movement  down  the 
streams,  was  now  at  the  highest  point  that  it  had 
reached  in  its  movement  up  the  peninsula,  when 
led  by  McClellan  two  years  before. 


394  AT    COLD    HARBOR.  [1864. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  Smith's  and 
Wright's  corps  attacked  the  Confederate  intrench- 
ments.  Along  most  of  the  front  they  were  obliged 
to  cross  open  ground  that  was  swept  by  artillery 
and  musketry  ;  but  they  moved  forward  steadily, 
in  spite  of  their  rapid  losses,  and  everywhere 
carried  the  first  line  of  works,  taking  some  hun 
dreds  of  prisoners,  but  were  stopped  by  the  second. 
They  intrenched  and  held  their  advanced  position  ; 
but  it  had  been  dearly  bought,  since  more  than 
two  thousand  of  their  men  were  killed  or  wounded, 
including  many  officers. 

When  the  other  corps  had  followed  the  Sixth, 
and  the  entire  army  was  in  its  new  position  at  Cold 
Harbor,  eight  or  ten  miles  from  Richmond,  with 
its  enemy  but  a  little  distance  in  front  of  it,  an 
attack  was  planned  for  the  morning  of  the  3d. 
The  Confederate  position  was  very  strong.  The 
line  was  from  three  to  six  miles  from  the  outer 
defences  of  Richmond,  the  right  resting  on  the 
Chickahominy,  and  the  left  protected  by  the  woods 
and  swamps  about  the  head-waters  of  several  small 
streams.  The  Chickahominy  was  between  it  and 
Richmond,  but  the  water  was  low  and  everywhere 
fordable.  The  only  chance  for  attack  was  in  front, 
and  it  remained  to  be  demonstrated  by  experiment 
whether  anything  could  be  done  there.  If  Lee's 
line  could  be  disrupted  at  the  centre,  and  a  strong 
force  thrust  through,  it  would  for  the  time  being 
disorganize  his  army,  though  a  large  part  of  it 
would  undoubtedly  escape  across  the  river  and 
rally  in  the  intrenchments  nearer  the  city. 


18M.]  A   FUTILE   ATTACK.  395 

At  half-past  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
3d,  the  Second,  Sixth,  and  Eighteenth  (Smith's) 
corps  began  the  attack  as  planned.  They  moved 
forward  as  rapidly  and  regularly  as  the  nature  of 
the  ground  would  admit,  under  a  destructive  fire 
of  artillery  and  musketry,  till  they  carried  the 
first  line  of  intrenchments.  Barlow's  division  of 
Hancock's  corps  struck  a  salient,  and  after  a  des 
perate  hand-to-hand  contest  captured  it,  taking 
nearly  three  hundred  prisoners  and  three  guns, 
which  were  at  once  turned  upon  the  enemy.  But 
every  assaulting  column,  on  reaching  the  enemy's 
first  line,  found  itself  subjected  to  cross-fires  from  the 
enemy's  skilfully  placed  artillery,  and  not  one  of 
them  could  go  any  farther.  Most  of  them  fell  back 
speedily,  leaving  large  numbers  prisoners  or  bleed 
ing  on  the  ground,  and  took  up  positions  midway 
between  the  lines,  where  they  rapidly  dug  trenches 
and  protected  themselves.  General  Grant  had 
given  orders  to  General  Meade  to  suspend  the 
attack  the  moment  it  should  appear  hopeless,  and 
the  heavy  fighting  did  not  last  more  than  an  hour, 
though  firing  was  kept  up  all  day.  A  counter 
attack  by  Early's  corps  was  as  unsuccessful  as 
those  of  the  National  troops  had  been  ;  and  one 
or  two  lighter  attacks  by  the  Confederates,  later 
in  the  day,  were  also  repelled. 

The  entire  loss  of  the  National  army  at  Cold 
Harbor  in  the  first  twelve  days  of  June — including 
the  battles  just  described  and  the  almost  constant 
skirmishing  and  minor  engagements  —  was  ten 
thousand  and  fifty-eight  ;  and  among  the  dead  and 


396  THE    LOSSES.  [1864. 

wounded  were  many  valuable  officers.  General 
Tyler  and  Colonel  Brooke  were  wounded,  and 
Colonels  Porter,  Morris,  Meade,  and  Byrnes  were 
killed.*  The  Confederate  loss  —  which  included 
Brigadier-General  Doles  among  the  killed  and 
Brigadier-Generals  Kirkland,  Lane,  Law,  and  Fin- 
ne^an  amonor  the  wounded  —  is  unknown ;  but 

o  o 

it  was  much  smaller  than  the  National.  The 
attack  of  June  3  is  recognized  as  the  most  serious 
error  in  Grant's  military  career.  He  himself  says 
in  his  "  Memoirs  "  that  he  always  regretted  it  was 
ever  made.  It  was  as  useless,  and  almost  as  costly, 
as  Lee's  assault  upon  Meade's  centre  at  Gettysburg. 
But  we  do  not  read  that  any  of  Grant's  lieuten 
ants  protested  against  it,  as  Longstreet  protested 
against  the  attack  on  Cemetery  Ridge. 

For  some  days  Grant  held  his  army  as  close  to 
the  enemy  as  possible,  to  prevent  the  Confederates 
from  detaching  a  force  to  operate  against  Hunter 
in  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 

General  Halleck  now  proposed  that  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  should  invest  Richmond  on  the 
north.  This  might  have  prevented  any  possibility 
of  Lee's  launching  out  toward  Washington,  but  it 

*  The  lines  of  the  two  armies  were  so  close  to  each  other  that  it 
was  impossible,  to  care  for  the  wounded  that  lay  between  them, 
except  by  a  cessation  of  hostilities.  As  the  National  forces  had  been 
the  assailants,  most  of  the  wounded  were  theirs.  General  Grant 
made  an  immediate  effort  to  obtain  a  cessation  for  this  humane  pur 
pose,  but  General  Lee  delayed  it  with  various  trivial  excuses  for  forty- 
eight  hours,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  all  but  two  of  the  wounded 
were  dead.  See  a  part  of  the  correspondence  in  Grant's  "Memoirs," 
vol.  ii.  pp.  273  et  seq.  As  to  the  losses  here  and  at  Spottsylvania, 
authorities  differ.  The  figures  given  above  are  from  a  statement  com 
piled  in  the  Adjutant-General's  office. 


IS«.]  MOVEMENT    TO    THE   JAMES.  397 

could  hardly  have  effected  anything  else.  The 
Confederate  lines  of  supply  would  have  been  left 
untouched,  while  the  National  troops  would  have 
perished  between  impregnable  intrenchments  on 
the  one  side  and  malarious  swamps  on  the  other. 
Grant  determined  to  move  once  more  -by  the  left 
flank,  swing  his  army  across  the  James,  and  invest 
the  city  from  the  south.  A  direct  investment  of 
the  Confederate  capital  on  that  side  was  out  of 
the  question,  because  the  south  bank  of  the  James 
is  lower  than  the  city ;  and  the  movement  would 
therefore  resolve  itself  into  a  struggle  for  Peters 
burg,  thirty  miles  south  of  Richmond,  which  was 
its  railroad  centre. 

To  withdraw  an  army  from  so  close  contact  with 
the  enemy,  march  it  fifty  miles,  cross  two  rivers, 
and  bring  it  into  a  new  position,  was  a  very  deli 
cate  and  hazardous  task,  and  Grant  performed  it 
with  consummate  skill.  He  sent  a  part  of  his 
cavalry  to  make  a  demonstration  on  the  James 
above  Richmond  and  destroy  portions  of  Lee's 
line  of  supplies  from  the  Shenandoah  ;  he  had  a 
line  of  intrenchments  constructed  along  the  north 
bank  of  the  Chickahominy,  from  his  position  at 
Cold  Harbor  down  to  the  point  where  he  expected 
to  cross  ;  and  directed  General  Butler  to  send  two 
vessels  loaded  with  stone  to  be  sunk  in  the  channel 
of  the  James  as  far  up  stream  as  possible,  so  that 
the  Confederate  gunboats  could  not  come  down 
and  attack  the  army  while  it  was  crossing.  A 
large  number  of  vessels  had  been  collected  at 
Fort  Monroe,  to  be  used  as  ferry-boats  when 


398  GRANT    CROSSES    THE   JAMES.  [1864. 

the  army  should  reach  the  James.  The  so-called 
"  bridges  "  on  the  Chickahominy  were  now  only 
names  of  geographical  points,  for  all  the  bridges 
had  been  destroyed  ;  but  each  column  was  to  carry 
its  pontoon  train. 

The  march  began  in  the  evening  of  June  12, 
and  at  midday  of  the  I3th  a  pontoon  was  thrown 
across  at  Long  Bridge,  fifteen  miles  below  the 
Cold  Harbor  position,  and  Wilson's  cavalry  crossed 
and  immediately  moved  out  a  short  distance  on 
the  roads  toward  Richmond,  to  watch  the  move 
ments  of  the  enemy  and  prevent  a  surprise.  The 
Fifth  corps  followed  quickly,  and  took  a  position 
covering  these  roads  till  the  remainder  of  the 
army  could  cross.  The  Second,  Sixth,  and  Ninth 
corps  crossed  the  Chickahominy  a  few  miles 
farther  down  ;  while  the  Eighteenth  had  em 
barked  at  White  House,  to  be  sent  around  by 
water.  In  the  evening  of  the  I3th,  the  Fifth 
reached  Wilcox's  Landing  on  the  James,  ten  miles 
below  Haxall's,  where  McClellan  had  reached  the 
river  at  the  close  of  his  peninsula  campaign. 
The  other  corps  reached  the  landing  on  the  i4th. 
The  river  there  is  more  than  two  thousand  feet 
wide;  but  between  four  o'clock  P.M.  and  midnight 
a  pontoon  was  laid,  and  the  crossing  began.  The 
artillery  and  trains  were  sent  over  first,  and  the 
infantry  followed  in  a  long  procession  that  oc 
cupied  forty-eight  hours,  the  rear  guard  of  the 
Sixth  corps  passing  over  at  midnight  of  the  i6th. 
Thus  an  army  of  more  than  one  hundred  thou 
sand  men  was  taken  from  a  line  of  trenches 


1864.]  EWELL   SEES   THE    END.  399 

within  a  few  yards  of  the  enemy,  marched  fifty 
miles,  and  with  all  its  paraphernalia  carried  across 
two  rivers  and  placed  in  a  position  threaten 
ing  that  enemy's  capital,  without  a  serious  col 
lision  or  disaster.  General  Ewell  said  that 
when  the  National  army  got  across  the  James 
River  he  knew  that  the  Confederate  cause  was 
lost,  and  it  was  the  duty  of  their  authorities  to 
make  the  best  terms  they  could  while  they  still  had 
a  right  to  claim  concessions. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE    CONFEDERATE    CRUISERS. 

WHILE  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  putting 
itself  in  fighting  trim  after  its  change  of  base,  a  de 
cisive  battle  of  the  war  took  place  three  thousand 
miles  away.  A  vessel  known  in  the  builders'  yard 
as  the  "  290,"  and  afterward  famous  as  the  "Ala 
bama,"  had  been  built  for  the  Confederate  Govern 
ment  in  1862,  at  Birkenhead,  opposite  Liverpool. 
She  was  of  wood,  a  fast  sailer,  having  both  steam 
and  canvas,  was  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long, 
and  rated  at  one  thousand  and  forty  tons.  She 
was  thoroughly  fitted  in  every  respect,  and  cost 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars.  The  Ameri 
can  Minister  at  London  notified  the  British  Gov 
ernment  that  such  a  ship  was  being  built  in  an 
English  yard,  in  violation  of  the  neutrality  laws, 
and  demanded  that  she  be  prevented  from  leaving 
the  Mersey.  But  either  through  design  or  stupid 
ity  the  Government  moved  too  slowly,  and  the 
cruiser  escaped  to  sea.  She  went  to  Fayal,  in 
the  Azores,  and  there  took  on  board  her  guns  and 
coal,  sent  out  to  her  in  a  merchant  ship  from  Lon 
don.  Her  commander  was  Raphael  Semmes,  who 
had  served  in  the  United  States  navy.  Her  crew 
were  mainly  Englishmen.  For  nearly  two  years 
she  roamed  the  seas,  traversing  the  Atlantic  and 


1864.]  CAREER    OF    THE    ALABAMA.  40 1 

Indian  oceans  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  cap 
tured  sixty-nine  American  merchantmen,  most  of 
which  were  burned  at  sea.  Their  crews  were  sent 
away  on  passing  vessels,  or  put  ashore  at  some 
convenient  port.  Several  war-vessels  were  sent 
out  in  search  of  the  "  Alabama,"  but  they  were 
at  constant  disadvantage  from  the  rule  that  when 
two  hostile  vessels  are  in  a  neutral  port,  the  first 
that  leaves  must  have  been  gone  twenty-four  hours 
before  the  other  is  permitted  to  follow.  In  French, 
and  especially  in  British  ports,  the  "  Alabama" 
was  always  welcome,  and  enjoyed  every  possible 
facility,  because  she  was  destroying  American 
commerce. 

In  June,  1864,  she  was   in  the  harbor  of  Cher 
bourg.    France.     The   United  States   man-of-war 
£>' 

"  Kearsarge,"  commanded  by  John  A.  Winslow, 
found  her  there,  and  lay  off  the  port,  watching  her. 
By  not  going  into  the  harbor,  Winslow  escaped 
the  twenty-four-hour  rule.  Semmes  sent  a  note 
to  Winslow,  asking  him  not  to  go  away,  as  he  was 
coming  out  to  fight ;  but  no  such  challenge  was 
called  for,  as  the  "  Kearsarge"  had  come  for  that 
purpose,  and  was  patiently  waiting  for  her  prey. 
She  was  almost  exactly  the  size  of  the  "  Alabama," 
and  the  armaments  were  so  nearly  alike  as  to  make 
a  very  fair  match.  But  her  crew  were  altogether 
superior  in  gun-practice,  and  she  had  protected  her 
boilers  by  chains  "  stoppered"  up  and  down  the 
side  amidships,  as  had  been  done  in  the  fights  at 
New  Orleans  and  elsewhere.  On  Sunday  morning, 
June  19,  the  ''Alabama "  steamed  out  of  the  har- 


4O2          THE    KEARSARGE    SINKS    THE    ALABAMA.         [1864. 

bor  amid  the  plaudits  of  thousands  of  Englishmen 
and  Frenchmen,  who  had  not  a  doubt  that  she 
was  going1  to  certain  victory.  The  "Kearsarge" 
steamed  away  as  she  approached,  and  drew  her  off 
to  a  distance  of  seven  or  eight  miles  from  the 
coast.  Winslow  then  turned  and  closed  with  his 
enemy.  The  two  vessels  steamed  around  on  op 
posite  sides  of  a  circle  half  a  mile  in  diameter, 
firing  their  starboard  guns.  The  practice  on  the 
"  Alabama"  was  very  bad;  she  began  firing  first, 
discharged  her  guns  rapidly,  and  produced  little  or 
no  effect,  though  a  dozen  of  her  shots  struck  her 
antagonist.  But  when  the  "Kearsarge"  began 
firing  there  was  war  in  earnest.  Her  guns  were 
handled  with  great  skill,  and  every  shot  told.  One 
of  them  cut  the  mizzenmast  so  that  it  fell.  An 
other  exploded  a  shell  among  the  crew  of  the 
"  Alabama's"  pivot  gun,  killing  half  of  them  and 
dismounting  the  piece.  Balls  rolled  in  at  the 
port-holes  and  swept  away  the  gunners  ;  and  several 
pierced  the  hull  below  the  water  line,  making  the 
ship  tremble  from  stem  to  stern,  and  letting  in 
floods  of  water.  The  vessels  had  described  seven 
circles,  and  the  "  Alabama's  "  deck  was  strewn  with 
the  dead,  when  at  the  end  of  an  hour  she  was  found 
to  be  sinking,  her  colors  were  struck,  and  her 
officers,  with  a  keen  sense  of  chivalry,  threw  into 
the  sea  the  swords  that  were  no  longer  their  own. 
The  "Kearsarge"  lowered  boats  to  take  off  the 
crew ;  but  suddenly  the  stern  settled,  the  bow  was 
thrown  up  into  the  air,  and  down  went  the  "Ala 
bama  "  to  the  bottom  of  the  British  Channel,  car- 


18M.]  CAREER   OF    THE    SUMTER.  403 

rying  an  unknown  number  of  her  men.  An  Eng 
lish  yacht  picked  up  Semmesand  about  forty  sailors 
and  steamed  away  to  Southampton  with  them  ; 
others  were  rescued  by  the  boats  of  the  "  Kear- 
sarge,"  and  still  others  were  drowned. 

In  January,  1863,  the  "Alabama"  had  fought 
the  side-wheel  steamer  "  Hatteras,"  of  the  United 
States  navy,  off  Galveston,  Texas,  and  injured  her 
so  that  she  sank  soon  after  surrend-ering.  The 
remainder  of  the  "Alabama's"  career,  till  she  met 
the  "  Kearsarge,"  had  been  spent  in  capturing 
merchant  vessels  and  either  burning  them  or  releas 
ing  them  under  bonds.  Before  Captain  Semmes 
received  command  of  the  "  Alabama,"  he  had 
cruised  in  the  "  Sumter"  on  a  similar  mission,  cap 
turing  eighteen  vessels,  when  her  course  was  ended 
in  the  harbor  of  Gibraltar,  in  February,  1862, 
where  she  was  blockaded  by  the  United  States 
steamers  "  Kearsarge"  and  "Tuscarora,"  and  as 
there  was  no  probability  that  she  could  escape  to 
sea,  her  captain  and  crew  abandoned  her. 

A  score  of  other  Confederate  cruisers  roamed 
the  seas,  to  prey  upon  United  States  commerce, 
but  none  of  them  became  quite  so  famous  as  the 
"Sumter"  and  the  "Alabama."  They  included 
the  "  Shenandoah,"  which  made  thirty-eight  cap 
tures  ;  the  "  Florida,"  which  made  thirty-six ;  the 
"  Tallahassee,"  which  made  twenty-seven ;  the 
"  Tacony,"  which  made  fifteen ;  and  the  "  Georgia," 
which  made  ten.  The  "  Florida"  was  captured  in 
the  harbor  of  Bahia,  Brazil,  in  October,  1864,  by 
a  United  States  man-of-war,  in  violation  of  the 


404  RESPONSIBILITY    FOR   THE    CRUISERS.  [1863. 

neutrality  of  the  port.  For  this  the  United  States 
Government  apologized  to  Brazil  and  ordered 
the  restoration  of  the  " Florida"  to  the  harbor 
where  she  was  captured.  But  in  Hampton  Roads 
she  met  with  an  accident  and  sank.  It  was 
generally  believed  that  the  apparent  accident  was 
contrived  with  the  connivance,  if  not  by  direct 
order,  of  the  Government. 

Most  of  these  cruisers  were  built  in  British  ship 
yards,  and  whenever  they  touched  at  British  ports 
to  obtain  supplies  and  land  prisoners,  their  com 
manders  were  ostentatiously  welcomed  and  lionized 
by  the  British  merchants  and  officials. 

The  English  builders  were  proceeding  to  con 
struct  several  swift  iron-clad  cruisers  for  the  Con 
federate  Government,  when  the  United  States 
Government  protested  so  vigorously  that  the 
British  Government  prevented  them  from  leaving 
port.  One  or  two  passages  from  Secretary 
Seward's  despatches  to  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
the  American  Minister  at  London,  contain  the 
whole  argument  that  was  afterward  elaborated 
before  a  high  court  of  arbitration,  and  secured  a 
verdict  against  England.  More  than  this,  these 
passages  contain  what  probably  was  the  control 
ling  reason  that  determined  England  not  to  try 
the  experiment  of  intervention.  Secretary  Seward 
wrote,  under  date  of  October  5-6,  1863  : 

"  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  and  to  submit 
to  the  President  your  despatch  of  the  i7th  of 
September,  which  relates  to  the  iron-clad  vessels 
built  at  Laird's  ship-yards  for  war  against  the 


1863.]  SECRETARY    SEWARD's    DESPATCHES.  405 

United  States,  which  is  accompanied  by  a  very 
interesting  correspondence  between  yourself  and 
Earl  Russell.  The  positions  you  have  taken  in 
this  correspondence  are  approved.  It  is  indeed  a 
cause  of  profound  concern  that,  notwithstanding 
an  engagement  which  the  President  has  accepted 
as  final,  there  still  remains  a  doubt  whether  those 
vessels  will  be  prevented  from  coming  out,  accord 
ing  to  the  original  hostile  purposes  of  the  enemies 
of  the  United  States  residing  in  Great  Britain. 

"  Earl  Russell  remarks  that  her  Majesty's  Gov 
ernment,  having  proclaimed  neutrality,  have  in 
good  faith  exerted  themselves  to  maintain  it.  I 
have  not  to  say  now  for  the  first  time,  that,  how 
ever  satisfactory  that  position  may  be  to  the  Brit 
ish  nation,  it  does  not  at  all  relieve  the  gravity  of 
the  question  in  the  United  States.  The  proclama 
tion  of  neutrality  was  a  concession  of  belligerent 
rights  to  the  insurgents,  and  was  deemed  by  this 
Government  as  unnecessary,  and  in  effect  as 
unfriendly,  as  it  has  since  proved  injurious  to  this 
country.  The  successive  preparations  of  hostile 
naval  expeditions  in  Great  Britain  are  regarded 
here  as  fruits  of  that  injurious  proclamation.  .  .  . 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  United  States 
stand  upon  what  they  think  impregnable  ground, 
when  they  refuse  to  be  derogated,  by  any  act 
of  British  Government,  from  their  position  as  a 
sovereign  nation  in  amity  with  Great  Britain,  and 
placed  upon  a  footing  of  equality  with  domestic 
insurgents  who  have  risen  up  in  resistance  against 
their  authority. 


406  RESPONSIBILITY    FOR    THE    CRUISERS.  [1863. 

"  It  does  not  remain  for  us  even  to  indicate  to 
Great  Britain  the  serious  consequences  which 
must  ensue  if  the  iron-clads  shall  come  forth  upon 
their  work  of  destruction.  They  have  been  fully 
revealed  to  yourself,  and  you  have  made  them 
known  to  Earl  Russell,  within  the  restraints  which 
an  honest  and  habitual  respect  for  the  Government 
and  the  people  of  Great  Britain  imposes.  It  seems 
to  me  that  her  Majesty's  Government  might  be 
expected  to  perceive  and  appreciate  them,  even  if 
we  were  henceforth  silent  upon  the  subject.  When 
our  unhappy  civil  war  broke  out,  we  distinctly  con 
fessed  that  we  knew  what  great  temptations  it 
offered  to  foreign  intervention  and  aggression,  and 
that  in  no  event  could  such  intervention  or  aggres 
sion  be  endured.  It  was  apparent  that  such 
aggression,  if  it  should  come,  must  travel  over  the 
seas,  and  therefore  must  be  met  and  encountered, 
if  at  all,  by  maritime  resistance.  We  addressed 
ourselves  to  prepare  the  means  of  such  resistance. 
We  have  now  a  navy,  not  indeed  as  ample  as  we 
proposed,  but  yet  one  which  we  feel  assured  is  not 
altogether  inadequate  to  the  purposes  of  self- 
defence,  and  it  is  yet  rapidly  increasing  in  men, 
material,  and  engines  of  war.  Besides  this  regular 
naval  force,  the  President  has  asked,  and  Congress 
has  given  him,  authority  to  convert  the  mercantile 
marine  into  armed  squadrons,  by  the  issue  of  letters 
of  marque  and  reprisal.  All  the  world  might  see, 
if  it  would,  that  the  great  arm  of  naval  defence 
has  not  been  thus  invigorated  for  the  mere  pur 
pose  of  maintaining  a  blockade,  or  enforcing  our 


1863.]  SECRETARY    SEWARD  S    DESPATCHES.  407 

authority  against  the  insurgents ;  for  practically 
they  have  never  had  an  open  port,  or  built  and 
armed,  nor  could  they  from  their  own  resources 
build  and  arm,  a  single  ship-of-war.  - 

"  Thus  the  world  is  left  free  to  understand  that 
our  measures  of  maritime  war  are  intended  to  resist 
maritime  aggression,  which  is  constantly  threat 
ened  from  abroad  and  even  more  constantly  appre 
hended  at  home.  That  it  would  be  employed  for 
that  purpose,  if  such  aggression  should  be  at 
tempted,  would  seem  certain,  unless,  indeed,  there 
should  be  reason  to  suppose  that  the  people  do 
not  in  this  respect  approve  of  the  policy  and  sym 
pathize  with  the  sentiments  of  the  executive  gov 
ernment.  But  the  resistance  of  foreign  aggres 
sion  by  all  the  means  in  our  power,  and  at  the 
hazard,  if  need  be,  of  the  national  life  itself,  is  the 
one  point  of  policy  on  which  the  American  people 
seem  to  be  unanimous  and  in  complete  harmony 
with  the  President. 

"  The  United  States  understand  that  the 
'Alabama'  is  a  pirate  ship-of-war,  roving  over  the 
seas,  capturing,  burning,  sinking,  and  destroying 
American  vessels,  without  any  lawful  authority 
from  the  British  Government  or  from  any  other 
sovereign  power,  in  violation  of  the  law  of  nations, 
and  contemptuously  defying  all  judicial  tribunals 
equally  of  Great  Britain  and  all  other  states.  The 
United  States  understand  that  she  was  purposely 
built  for  war  against  the  United  States,  by  British 
subjects,  in  a  British  port,  and  prepared  there  to 
be  armed  and  equipped  with  a  specified  armament 


408  RESPONSIBILITY    FOR    THE    CRUISERS.  [1863. 

adapted  to  her  construction  for  the  very  piratical 
career  which  she  is  now  pursuing ;  that  her  arm 
ament  and  equipment,  duly  adapted  to  this  ship- 
of-war  and  no  other,  were  simultaneously  prepared 
by  the  same  British  subjects  in  a  British  port,  to 
be  placed  on  board  to  complete  her  preparation 
for  that  career ;  that  when  she^was  ready  and  her 
armament  and  equipment  were  equally  ready,  she 
was  clandestinely  and  by  connivance  sent  by  her 
British  holders,  and  the  armament  and  equipment 
were  at  the  same  time  clandestinely  sent  through 
the  same  connivance  by  the  British  subjects  who 
had  prepared  them,  to  a  common  port  outside  of 
British  waters,  and  there  the  armament  and  equip 
ment  of  the  '  Alabama '  as  a  ship-of-war  were  com 
pleted,  and  she  was  sent  forth  on  her  work  of  de 
struction  with  a  crew  chiefly  of  British  subjects, 
enlisted  in  and  proceeding  from  a  British  port,  in 
fraud  of  the  laws  of  Great  Britain  and  in  violation 
of  the  peace  and  sovereignty  of  the  United  States. 
11  The  United  States  understand  that  the  pur 
pose  of  the  building,  armament  and  equipment, 
and  expedition  of  the  vessel  was  one  single  crimi 
nal  intent,  running  equally  through  the  building 
and  the  equipment  and  the  expedition,  and  fully 
completed  and  executed  when  the  '  Alabama '  was 
finally  despatched  ;  and  that  this  intent  brought 
the  whole  transaction  of  building,  armament,  and 
equipment  within  the  lawful  jurisdiction  of  Great 
Britain,  where  the  main  features  of  the  crime  were 
executed.  The  United  States  understand  that 
they  gave  sufficient  and  adequate  notice  to  the 


1863.]  SECRETARY    SEWARD  S    DESPATCHES.  409 

British  Government  that  this  wrongful  enterprise 
was  begun  and  was  being  carried  out  to  its  com 
pletion  ;  and  that  upon  receiving  this  notice  her 
Majesty's  Government  were  bound  by  treaty  obli 
gations  and  by  the  law  of  nations  to  prevent  its 
execution,  and  that  if  the  diligence  which  was  due 
had  been  exercised  by  the  British  Government  the 
expedition  of  the  '  Alabama '  would  have  been  pre 
vented,  and  the  wrongful  enterprise  of  British 
subjects  would  have  been  defeated.  The  United 
States  confess  that  some  effort  was  made  by  her 
Majesty's  Government,  but  it  was  put  forth  too 
late  and  was  too  soon  abandoned.  Upon  these 
principles  of  law  and  these  assumptions  of  fact, 
the  United  States  do  insist,  and  must  continue  to 
insist,  that  the  British  Government  is  justly  respon 
sible  for  the  damages  which  the  peaceful,  law-abid 
ing  citizens  of  the  United  States  sustain  by  the 
depredations  of  the  '  Alabama.' 

"  Though  indulging  a  confident  belief  in  the 
correctness  of  our  positions  in  regard  to  the  claims 
in  question,  and  others,  we  shall  be  willing  at  all 
times  hereafter,  as  well  as  now,  to  consider  the 
evidence  and  the  arguments  which  her  Majesty's 
Government  may  offer,  to  show  that  they  are 
invalid  ;  and  if  we  shall  not  be  convinced, 
there  is  no  fair  and  just  form  of  conventional 
arbitrament  or  reference  to  which  we  shall  not  be 
willing  to  submit  them." 

In  1856  the  great  powers  of  Europe  signed  at 
Paris  a  treaty  by  which  they  relinquished  the  right 
of  privateering,  and  some  of  the  lesser  powers 


4IO  THE    RIGHT    OF    PRIVATEERING.  [1861. 

afterward  accepted  a  general  invitation  to  join  in 
it.  The  United  States  offered  to  sign  it,  on  con 
dition  that  a  clause  be  inserted  declaring  that 

o 

private  property  on  the  high  seas,  if  not  contraband 
of  war,  should  be  exempt  from  seizure  by  the 
public  armed  vessels  of  an  enemy,  as  well  as  by 
private  ones.  The  powers  that  had  negotiated 
the  treaty  declined  to  make  this  amendment,  and 
therefore  the  United  States  did  not  become  a 
party  to  it.  When  the  war  of  secession  began, 
and  the  Confederate  authorities  proclaimed  their 
readiness  to  issue  letters  of  marque  for  private 
vessels  to  prey  upon  American  commerce,  the 
United  States  Government  offered  to  accept  the 
treaty  without  amendment;  but  England  and 
France  declined  to  permit  our  Government  to  join 
in  the  treaty  then,  if  its  provisions  against  priva 
teering  were  to  be  understood  as  applying  to 
vessels  sent  out  under  Confederate  authority. 
There  the  subject  was  dropped,  and  while  the 
insurgents  were  thus  left  at  liberty  to  do  whatever 
damage  they  could  upon  the  high  seas,  the  United 
States  Government  was  also  left  free  to  send  not 
only  its  own  cruisers  but  an  unlimited  number  of 
privateers  against  the  commerce  of  any  nation 
with  which  it  might  become  involved  in  war. 
When  at  the  beginning  of  President  Lincoln's 
administration  Mr.  Adams  was  sent  out  as  Minis 
ter  at  London,  he  carried  instructions  that  included 
this  passage  :  "  If,  as  the  President  does  not  at  all 
apprehend,  you  shall  unhappily  find  her  Majesty's 
Government  tolerating  the  application  of  the  so- 


1861-5. J          WHY    ENGLAND    DID    NOT    INTERVENE.          4!  I 

called  seceding  States,  or  wavering  about  it,  you 
will  not  leave  them  to  suppose  for  a  moment  that 
they  can  grant  that  application  and  remain  the 
friends  of  the  United  States.  You  may  even 
assure  them  promptly,  in  that  case,  that  if  they 
determine  to  recognize,  they  may  at  the  same 
time  prepare  to  enter  into  alliance  with  the  ene 
mies  of  this  republic." 

England  had  had  a  costly  experience  of  Ameri 
can  privateering  under  sail  in  the  war  of  1812-15, 
and  she  now  saw  what  privateering  could  become 
under  steam  power.  While  she  was  rejoicing  at 
the  destruction  of  American  merchantmen,  she 
knew  what  might  happen  to  her  own.  Let  her 
become  involved  in  war  with  the  United  States, 
and  not  only  a  hundred  war-ships  but  a  vast  fleet 
of  privateers  would  at  once  set  sail  from  American 
ports,  and  in  a  few  months  her  commerce  would 
be  swept  from  every  sea.  The  fisherman  on  the 
coast  of  Maine  would  carpet  his  hut  with  Persian 
rugs  of  the  rarest  patterns,  and  the  ship-carpenter's 
children  would  play  with  baubles  intended  to  deco 
rate  the  Court  of  St.  James.*  The  navies  of 
England  and  France  combined  could  not  blockade 

o 

the  harbors  of  New  England ;  and  from  those 
harbors,  where  every  material  is  at  hand,  might 
have  sailed  a  fleet  whose  operations  would  not 

*  See  lists  of  goods  captured  by  American  privateers  in  the  war  of 
1812 — "  Eighteen  bales  of  Turkish  carpets,  forty-three  bales  of  raw 
silk,  twenty  boxes  of  gums,  a  hundred  and  sixty  dozen  swan-skins,  six 
tons  of  ivory,  $40,000  in  gold  dust,  $80,000  in  specie,  $20,000  worth 
of  indigo,  $60,000  in  bullion,  $500,000  worth  of  dry  goods,  seven 
hundred  tons  of  mahogany/'etc. — in  Coggeshall's  "  History  of  Ameri 
can  Privateers." 


412  THE    SETTLEMENT    BY    ARBITRATION.  [1872. 

only  have  impoverished  the  merchants  of  London, 
but  called  out  the  wail  of  famine  from  her  popu 
lace.  Other  considerations  were  discussed  ;  but 
it  was  doubtless  this  contingency  that  furnished 
the  controlling  reason  why  the  British  Govern 
ment  resisted  the  tempting  offers  of  cotton  and 
free  trade,  resisted  the  importunities  of  Louis 
Napoleon,  resisted  the  clamor  of  its  more  reck 
less  subjects,  resisted  its  own  prejudice  against 
republican  institutions,  and  refused  to  recognize 
the  Southern  Confederacy  as  an  independent 
nation.  It  may  have  been  this  consideration  also 
that  induced  it,  after  the  war  was  over,  to  agree 
to  exactly  that  settlement  by  arbitration  which 
was  suggested  by  Secretary  Seward  in  the  despatch 
quoted  above.  In  1872  the  international  court  of 
arbitration,  sitting  in  Geneva,  Switzerland,  decided 
that  the  position  taken  by  the  United  States 
Government  in  regard  to  responsibility  for  the 
Confederate  cruisers  was  right ;  and  that  the 
British  Government,  for  failing  to  prevent  their 
escape  from  its  ports,  must  pay  the  United  States 
fifteen  and  a  half  million  dollars.  So  far  as  settle 
ment  of  the  principle  was  concerned,  the  award 
gave  Americans  all  the  satisfaction  they  could 
desire ;  but  the  sum  named  fell  far  short  of  the 
damage  that  had  been  wrought.  Charles  Sumner, 
speaking  in  his  place  in  the  Senate,  had  contended 
with  great  force  for  the  exaction  of  what  were 
called  "  consequential  damages,"  which  would  have 
swelled  the  amount  to  hundreds  of  millions,  but  in 
this  he  was  overruled. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE    ATLANTA    CAMPAIGN. 

AT  the  West,  the  first  important  movements  in 
1864  were  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  Missis 
sippi  River,  possession  of  which  had  been  won  by 
the  victories  of  Farragut  at  New  Orleans  and  Grant 
at  Vicksburg,  and  setting  free  the  large  garrisons 
that  were  required  to  hold  the  important  places  on 
its  banks.  On  the  3d  of  February  General  Wil 
liam  T.  Sherman  set  out  from  Vicksburg  with  a 
force  of  somewhat  more  than  twenty  thousand 
men,  in  two  columns  commanded  respectively  by 
Generals  McPherson  and  Hurlbut.  Their  des 
tination  was  Meridian,  over  one  hundred  miles 
east  of  Vicksburg,  where  the  Mobile  and  Ohio 
Railroad  is  crossed  by  that  from  Jackson  to  Selma. 
The  march  was  made  in  eleven  days,  without  nota 
ble  incident,  except  that  General  Sherman  nar 
rowly  escaped  capture  at  Decatur.  He  had  stopped 
for  the  night  at  a  log  house,  Hurlbut's  col 
umn  had  passed  on  to  encamp  four  miles  beyond 
the  town,  and  McPherson's  had  not  yet  come  up. 
A  few  straggling  wagons  of  Hurlbut's  train  were 
attacked  at  the  cross-roads  by  a  detachment  of 
Confederate  cavalry,  and  Sherman  ran  out  of  the 
house  to  see  wagons  and  horsemen  mingled  in  a 
cloud  of  dust,  with  pistol  bullets  flying  in  every 


414  THE    MERIDIAN    EXPEDITION.  [1864. 

direction.  With  the  few  orderlies  and  clerks  that 
belonged  to  head-quarters,  he  was  preparing  to 
barricade  a  corn-crib  where  they  could  defend 
themselves,  when  an  infantry  regiment  was 
brought  back  from  Hurlburt's  corps  and  quickly 
cleared  the  ground.  General  Grant  had  an  equally 
narrow  escape  from  capture  just  before  he  set  out 
on  his  Virginia  campaign.  A  special  train  that  was 
taking  him  to  the  front  reached  Warrenton  Junc 
tion  just  after  a  detachment  of  Confederate  cavalry, 
still  in  sight,  had  crossed  the  track  at  that  point. 

General  Leonidas  Polk,  who  was  in  command  at 
Meridian,  marched  out  at  the  approach  of  Sher 
man's  columns,  and  retreated  into  Alabama — per 
haps  deceived  by  the  report  Sherman  had  caused 
to  be  spread  that  the  destination  of  the  expedition 
was  Mobile.  The  National  troops  entered  the 
town  on  the  i4th,  and  at  once  began  a  thorough 
destruction  of  the  arsenal  and  storehouses,  the 
machine-shops,  the  station,  and  especially  the  rail 
roads.  Miles  of  the  track  were  torn  up,  the  ties 
burned,  and  the  rails  heated  and  then  bent  and 
twisted,  or  wound  around  trees.  These  were 
popularly  called  "  Jeff  Davis's  neckties,"  and  "  Sher 
man's  hair-pins."  Wherever  the  columns  passed, 
they  destroyed  the  mills  and  factories  and  sta 
tions,  leaving  untouched  only  the  dwelling-houses. 
Sherman  was  determined  to  disable  those  railroads 
so  completely  that  the  Confederates  could  not  use 
them  again,  and  in  this  he  succeeded,  as  he  did  in 
everything  he  undertook  personally.  But  another 
enterprise,  intended  to  be  carried  out  at  the  same 


1864.]  THE    SHREVEPORT    EXPEDITION.  415 

time,  was  not  so  fortunate.  He  sent  General  W. 
Sooy  Smith  with  a  cavalry  force  to  destroy  For 
rest's  Confederate  cavalry,  which  was  very  auda 
cious  in  its  frequent  raids,  and  liable  at  any  time 
to  dash  upon  the  National  railroad  communication 
in  middle  Tennessee.  Smith  had  about  seven 
thousand  men,  and  was  to  leave  Memphis  on  the 
ist  of  February  and  go  straight  to  Meridian,  Sher 
man  telling  him  he  would  be  sure  to  encounter 
Forrest  on  the  way,  and  how  he  must  manage  the 
fight.  But  Smith  did  not  leave  Memphis  till  the 
nth,  and,  instead  of  defeating  Forrest,  allowed 
Forrest  to  defeat  him  and  drive  him  back  to 
Memphis  ;  so  that  Sherman  waited  at  Meridian  till 
the  2Oth,  and  then  returned  with  his  expedition  to 
Vicksburg,  followed  by  thousands  of  negroes  of  all 
ages,  who  could  not  and  would  not  be  turned  back, 
but  pressed  close  upon  the  army,  in  their  firm  be 
lief  that  its  mission  was  their  deliverance. 

While  the  gap  that  had  been  made  in  the  Con 
federacy  by  the  seizure  of  the  Mississippi  was  thus 
widened  by  destruction  of  railroads  east  of  that 
river,  General  Banks,  in  command  at  New  Orleans, 
attempted  to  perform  a  somewhat  similar  service 
west  of  it.  With  about  fifteen  thousand  men  he 
set  out  in  March  for  Shreveport,  at  the  head  of 
steam  navigation  on  Red  River,  to  be  joined  at 
Alexandria  by  ten  thousand  men  under  General 
A.  J.  Smith  (loaned  for  the  occasion  by  Sherman 
from  the  force  at  Vicksburg)  and  by  Commodore 
David  D.  Porter  with  a  fleet  of  gunboats  and 
transports.  Smith  and  Porter  arrived  promptly  at 


41 6  BATTLE    OF    SABINE    CROSS-ROADS.  [1864. 

the  rendezvous,  captured  Fort  DeRussey  below 
Alexandria,  and  waited  for  Banks.  After  his 
arrival,  the  army  moved  by  roads  parallel  with  the 
river,  and  the  gunboats  kept  even  pace  with  them, 
though  with  great  difficulty  because  of  low  water. 
Small  bodies  of  Confederate  troops  appeared  fre 
quently,  but  were  easily  brushed  aside  by  the 
army,  while  the  fire  from  the  gunboats  destroyed 
a  great  many  who  were  foolhardy  enough  to  attack 
them  with  musketry  and  field  guns.  So  used  had 
the  troops  become  to  this  proceeding  that  common 
precautions  were  relaxed,  and  the  army  jogged 
along  strung  out  for  twenty  miles  on  a  single  road, 
with  a  small  cavalry  force  in  the  advance,  then  the 
wagon-trains,  and  then  the  infantry. 

As  they  approached  Sabine  Cross  Roads,  April  8, 
they  were  confronted  by  a  strong  Confederate  force 
commanded  by  General  Richard  Taylor,  and  sud 
denly  there  was  a  battle,  though  neither  com 
mander  intended  it.  Taylor,  before  camping  for 
the  night,  had  sent  out  troops  merely  to  drive  back 
the  advance  guard  of  the  expedition.  But  the  men 
on  both  sides  became  excited,  and  the  Nationals 
fought  persistently  for  an  hour  and  a  half  to  save 
their  trains,  while  Banks  tried  to  bring  forward  his 
infantry,  but  in  vain,  because  his  wagons  blocked 
the  road.  At  the  end  of  that  time  the  line  sud 
denly  gave  way,  and  the  cavalry  and  teamsters 
rushed  back  in  a  disorderly  mass,  followed  closely 
by  the  victorious  enemy.  Banks's  personal  efforts 
to  rally  them  were  useless,  and  he  was  borne  away 
by  the  tide.  Three  miles  in  the  rear  the  Nine- 


1864.]  BATTLE    OF    PLEASANT    HILL.  417 

teenth  corps  was  drawn  up  in  line,  and  here  the 
rout  was  stayed.  The  Confederates  attacked  this 
line,  but  could  not  break  it,  and  at  nightfall  retired. 
Banks  had  lost  over  three  thousand  men,  nineteen 
guns,  and  a  large  amount  of  stores.  He  fell  back 
a  short  distance,  to  Pleasant  Hill,  where  the  Six 
teenth  and  Seventeenth  corps  came  up,  and  next 
day  he  had  nearly  his  whole  force  in  line.  Here 
the  Confederates,  after  spending  most  of  the  day 
in  skirmishing  and  in  gathering  up  the  plunder, 
made  a  determined  assault  late  in  the  afternoon, 
but  were  repelled,  and,  being  attacked  in  return, 
lost  many  men  and  several  guns,  some  of  those 
captured  the  day  before  being  recaptured.  But 
Banks,  instead  of  following  up  his  victory,  fell  back 
to  the  river  at  Grand  Ecore,  partly  for  the  reason 
that  he  had  been  ordered  to  return  Smith's  bor 
rowed  troops. 

Then  a  new  difficulty  arose.  The  water  in  the 
river  had  fallen  so  that  the  fleet,  taken  up  over  the 
rapids  with  difficulty,  could  not  pass  down  again. 
The  boats  appeared  to  be  in  imminent  danger  of 
capture,  and  it  was  seriously  proposed  to  abandon 
and  destroy  them.  But  a  genius  came  to  the  front 
in  the  person  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Joseph  Bailey, 
who  said  he  could  build  dams  across  the  river,  and 
raise  the  water  enough  to  float  the  fleet.  He  was 
laughed  at  by  the  regulation  army  engineers,  but 
got  permission  to  try  the  experiment,  and  set  to 
work  with  three  thousand  men,  cutting  down 
trees,  hauling  stone,  and  building  cribs.  In  eight 
days  the  work  was  done,  the  water  had  risen 


4i 8  BAILEY'S  DAM.  [1864. 

sufficiently,  and  the  gunboat  "Lexington"  took 
the  lead  in  the  passage  through  the  narrow  open 
ing  that  had  been  left  in  the  dam.  Here  the  water 
rushed  like  a  mill-race,  and  as  she  swung  into  the 
current  with  a  full  head  of  steam  on,  probably  few 
of  the  thousands  of  witnesses  expected  to  see  her 
make  the  passage  unharmed.  But  though  she 
rolled  heavily,  and  seemed  to  hang  for  a  moment 
on  the  edge  of  the  rocks,  she  passed  down  without 
accident,  and  was  quickly  followed  by  three  other 
gunboats.  Within  a  few  days  the  whole  fleet  was 
thus  rescued,  and  steamed  down  into  the  Missis 
sippi.  Bailey's  dam  —  most  of  which  is  said  to  be 
standing  to  this  day  —  was  one  of  the  most  unique 
feats  of  engineering  ever  attempted. 

General  Steele  had  marched  with  fifteen  thou 
sand  men  from  Little  Rock  toward  Shreveport,  to 
cooperate  with  Banks's  expedition.  But  after  the 
battles  of  Sabine  Cross-Roads  and  Pleasant  Hill 
the  Confederates  turned  upon  him  and  drove  him 
back  to  Little  Rock,  capturing  several  of  his  guns 
and  hundreds  of  wagons. 

All  these  expeditions  were  preliminary  to  the 
great  campaign  that  General  Grant  had  designed 
for  an  army  under  Sherman, simultaneous  with  that 
conducted  by  himself  in  Virginia,  and  almost  equal 
to  it  in  difficulty  and  importance.  The  object  was 
to  move  southward  from  Chattanooga,  cutting  into 
the  heart  of  the  Confederacy  where  as  yet  it  had 
been  untouched,  and  reach  and  capture  Atlanta, 
which  was  important  as  a  railroad  centre  and  for 
its  manufactures  of  military  supplies.  This  in- 


1864.]  SHERMAN    AND   JOHNSTON.  419 

volved  conflict  with  the  army  under  General  Joseph 
E.  Johnston,  by  some  esteemed  the  ablest  general 
in  the  Confederate  service.  If  he  was  not  the 
ablest  in  all  respects,  he  was  certainly  equal  to  the 
conducting  of  a  defensive  campaign  with  great  skill. 
There  could  be  no  running  over  an  army  com 
manded  by  him ;  it  must  be  approached  cautiously 
and  fought  valiantly.  The  distance  from  Chatta 
nooga  to  Atlanta,  in  a  straight  line,  is  a  hundred 
miles,  through  a  country  of  hills  and  streams,  with 
a  great  many  naturally  strong  defensive  positions. 
Johnston  was  at  Dalton,  with  an  army  which  he 
sums  up  at  about  forty-three  thousand,  infantry, 
cavalry,  and  artillery.  But  this  (according  to  the 
Confederate  method  of  counting)  means  only  the 
men  actually  carrying  muskets  or  sabres  or  hand 
ling  the  guns,  excluding  all  officers,  musicians, 
teamsters,  etc.  If  counted  after  the  ordinary 
method,  his  army  probably  numbered  not  fewer 
than  fifty-five  thousand. 

To  contend  with  this  force,  Sherman  had  about 
a  hundred  thousand  men,  consisting  of  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland,  commanded  by  General  George 
H.  Thomas,  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  com 
manded  by  General  James  B.  McPherson,  and  the 
Army  of  the  Ohio,  commanded  by  General  John 
M.  Schofield.  The  discrepancy  in  numbers  seems 
very  great,  until  we  consider  that  Sherman  was 
not  only  to  take  the  offensive,  but  must  constantly 
leave  detachments  to  guard  his  communications ; 
for  he  drew  all  his  supplies  from  Nashville,  over 
one  single-track  railroad,  and  it  was  liable  to  be 


42O  SHERMAN    AND    JOHNSTON.  [1864. 

broken  at  any  time  by  guerilla  raids.  As  he  ad 
vanced  into  the  enemy's  country,  this  line  would 
become  longer,  and  the  danger  of  its  being  broken 
still  greater.  Johnston,  on  the  contrary,  had  noth 
ing  to  fear  in  the  rear,  for  he  was  fighting  on  his 
own  ground,  and  could  bring  his  entire  force  to 
the  front  at  every  emergency.  All  things  consid 
ered,  it  was  pretty  nearly  an  even  match.  In  one 
respect,  however,  Sherman  had  a  decided  advan 
tage  ;  he  possessed  the  confidence  of  the  Govern 
ment  that  he  served,  while  Johnston  did  not.  At 
least,  Johnston  complains  that  Mr.  Davis  did  not 
trust  him  as  he  should,  and  thwarted  him  in  many 
ways;  and  in  this  the  General  appears  to  be  corrob 
orated  by  the  circumstances  of  the  campaign. 

When  Sherman  concentrated  his  forces  at  Chat 
tanooga,  and  considered  the  means  of  supply,  he 
found  that  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  cars  loaded 
with  provisions  must  arrive  at  that  point  every  day. 
But  that  railroad  had  not  cars  and  locomotives 
enough  for  such  a  task,  and  so  he  sent  orders  to 
Louisville  for  the  seizure  of  trains  arriving  there 
from  the  north,  and  soon  had  rolling-stock  in  great 
abundance  and  variety.  While  he  thus  provided 
liberally  for  necessary  supplies,  he  excluded  all 
luxuries.  Tents  were  taken  only  for  the  sick  and 
wounded.  The  sole  exception  to  this  was  made  in 
favor  of  General  Thomas,  who  needed  a  tent  and 
a  small  wagon-train,  which  the  soldiers  immedi 
ately  christened  "  Thomas's  Circus."  Sherman 
had  no  tent  or  train.  Every  man,  whether  officer 
or  private,  carried  provisions  for  five  days. 


1864.] 


SHERMAN    BEGINS    THE   CAMPAIGN. 


421 


Thus  equipped  and  disciplined,  the  army  set  out 
from  Chattanooga  on  the  5th  of  May  (the  day  on 
which  Grant  entered  the  Wilderness),  following 
the  line  of  the  railroad  south  toward  Atlanta. 
A  direct  approach  to  Dalton  was  impossible,  be 
cause  of  John 
ston's  fortifica 
tions  at  Tunnel 
Hill.  So  Sher 
man  made  a 
feint  of  attack 
ing  there,  and 
sent  McPherson 
southward  t  o 
march  through 
the  gap  in 
the  mountains, 
strike  Resaca, 
and  cut  the  rail 
road  over  which 
Johnston  drew 
all  his  supplies. 
Here  at  the  very 
outset  was  the  brilliant  opportunity  of  the  cam 
paign,  not  to  occur  again.  McPherson  reached 
Resaca,  but  found  fortifications  and  an  opposing 
force  there,  and  just  lacked  the  necessary  boldness 
to  attack  promptly  and  vigorously,  thrusting  his 
army  into  a  position  \vhere  it  would  have  made 
the  destruction  of  Johnston's  almost  certain.  In 
stead  of  this,  he  fell  back  to  the  gap,  and  waited 
for  the  remainder  of  the  army  to  join  him 


422  JOHNSTON    ABANDONS    RESACA,  [1864. 

there.  But  this  enabled  Johnston  to  learn  what  was 
going  on,  and  when  Sherman  had  passed  down  to 
the  gap  with  his  entire  army,  he  found,  of  course, 
that  his  antagonist  had  fallen  back  to  Resaca  and 
concentrated  his  forces  there  in  a  strong  position. 
On  the  1 4th  of  May,  Sherman's  army  was  in  posi 
tion  around  Resaca  on  the  north  and  west,  and  on 
that  and  the  next  day  there  was  continual  skirmish 
ing  and  artillery  firing,  though  nothing  like  a  great 
battle.  Neither  general  was  willing  to  fight  at 
disadvantage ;  Sherman  would  not  attack  '  the 
intrenchments,  and  Johnston  would  not  come  out 
of  them.  McPherson,  on  the  right,  advanced  his 
line  of  battle  till  he  gained  an  elevated  position 
from  which  his  guns  could  destroy  the  railroad 
bridge  over  the  Oostenaula  in  the  Confederate 

o 

rear,  and  all  attempts  to  drive  him  out  of  this 
position  ended  only  in  bloody  repulse.  On  the 
left  of  the  line,  Hooker  exhibited  something  of  his 
usual  dash  by  capturing  a  small  portion  of  the 
enemy's  intrenchments,  with  four  guns  and  some 
prisoners.  Meanwhile,  Sherman  had  thrown  two 
pontoon  bridges  across  the  river  three  miles  below 
the  town,  so  that  he  could  send  over  a  detachment 
to  break  the  railroad,  and  had  also  sent  a  division 
of  cavalry  down  the  river,  to  cross  at  some  lower 
point  for  the  same  purpose.  Johnston,  therefore, 
seeing  his  communications  threatened  so  seriously, 
and  having  no  good  roads  by  which  he  could 
retreat  eastward,  did  not  wait  to  be  cooped  up  in 
Resaca,  but  in  the  night  of  the  I5th  retired  south 
ward  across  the  river,  following  the  railroad,  and 


1864.]  AND    CROSSES    THE    ETOWAH.  423 

burned  the  bridges  behind  him.  Sherman  thus 
came  into  possession  of  Resaca,  but  Resaca  was 
not  what  he  wanted,  and  without  the  slightest 
delay  he  started  his  entire  army  in  pursuit  of  the 
enemy.  Hooker  crossed  the  river  by  fords  and 
ferries  above  the  town,  Thomas  and  Schofield 
repaired  the  half-burned  bridges  and  used  them, 
McPherson  crossed  by  the  pontoons. 

The  enemy  was  found,  on  the  iQth,  in  position 
at  Cassville,  just  east  of  Kingston,  and  apparently 
ready  to  fight ;  but  when  Sherman's  columns  con 
verged  on  the  place  the  Confederates,  after  some 
sharp  skirmishing,  retreated  again  in  the  night  of 
the  2Oth,  and  crossed  Etowah  River.  Johnston 
had  really  intended  to  fight  here,  and  he  explains 
his  refusal  to  do  so  by  saying  that  Hood  and  Polk 
told  him  their  corps  could  not  hold  their  positions, 
as  a  portion  of  each  was  enfiladed  by  the  National 
artillery.  Hood's  version  of  the  mysterious  retreat 
is  to  the  effect  that  he  wanted  to  assume  the  offen 
sive,  marching  out  with  his  own  corps  and  a  part 
of  Folk's  to  overwhelm  Schofield,  who  was  sepa 
rated  from  the  remainder  of  the  National  army. 

Here  Sherman  halted  for  a  few  days,  to  get  his 
army  well  together,  re-provision  it,  and  repair  the 
railroad  in  his  rear.  Twenty  years  before,  when 
he  was  a  young  lieutenant,  he  had  ridden 
through  the  country  from  Charleston,  S.  C., 
to  northwestern  Georgia,  and  he  still  retained  a 
good  recollection  of  the  topography.  Knowing 
that  Allatoona  Pass,  through  which  runs  the  rail 
road  south  of  Kingston,  was  very  strong  and  would 


424  FIGHTING    AT    NEW    HOPE    CHURCH.  [1864. 

probably  be  held  by  Johnston,  he  diverged  from 
the  railroad  at  Kingston,  passing  considerably  west 
of  it,  and  directed  his  columns  toward  Dallas  ;  his 
purpose  being  to  threaten  Marietta  and  Atlanta  so 
as  to  cause  Johnston  to  withdraw  from  Alla- 
toona  and  release  his  hold  on  the  railroad,  which 
became  more  and  more  necessary  to  the  invading 
army  as  it  advanced  into  the  country.  Johnston 
understood  this  manoeuvre,  and  moved  westward 
to  meet  it.  The  armies,  in  an  irregular  way  - 
for  each  was  somewhat  scattered  and  uncertain  of 
the  other's  exact  position  —  came  into  collision 
at  the  cross-roads  by  New  Hope  Church.  Around 
this  place  for  six  days  there  was  continuous  fight 
ing,  sometimes  mere  skirmishing,  and  sometimes 
an  attack  by  a  heavy  detachment  of  one  party  or 
the  other,  but  all  such  attacks,  on  either  side,  were 
costly  and  fruitless.  The  general  advantage,  how 
ever,  was  with  Sherman  ;  for  as  he  gradually  got 
his  lines  into  proper  order,  he  strengthened  his 
right,  and  then  reached  out  with  his  left  toward 
the  railroad,  secured  all  the  wagon-roads  from 
Allatoona,  and  sent  out  a  strong  force  of  cavalry 
to  occupy  that  pass  and  repair  the  railroad. 
Johnston  then  left  his  position  at  New  Hope 
Church,  and  took  up  a  new  one. 

Thus  ended  the  month  of  May  in  this  campaign, 
where  each  commander  exercised  the  utmost  skill, 
neither  was  guilty  of  anything  rash,  and  the  results 
were  such  as  would  naturally  follow  from  the 
military  conditions  with  which  it  began.  The 
losses  on  each  side,  thus  far,  were  fewer  than  ten 


1864.]  THE    POSITION    AT    PINE    MOUNTAIN.  425 

thousand  men  —  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  ; 
but  strong  positions  had  been  successively  taken 
up,  turned,  abandoned;  and  Sherman  was  steadily 
drawing  nearer  to  his  goal. 

Johnston's  new  position  was  on  the  slopes  of 
Kenesaw,  Pine,  and  Lost  mountains,  thus  cross 
ing  the  railroad  above  Marietta.  It  had  the  advan 
tage  of  a  height  from  which  everything  done  by 
Sherman's  approaching  army  could  be  seen  ;  but 
it  had  the  disadvantage  of  a  line  ten  miles  long, 
and  so  disposed  that  one  part  could  not  readily 
reenforce  another.  Though  heavy  rains  were 
falling,  the  National  army  kept  close  to  its  antag 
onist,  and  intrenched  at  every  advance.  The 
railroad  was  repaired  behind  it,  and  the  trains  that 
brought  its  supplies  ran  up  almost  to  its  front. 
In  one  instance  an  engineer  detached  his  locomotive 
and  ran  forward  to  a  tank,  where  he  quietly  took 
in  the  necessary  supply  of  water,  while  a  Con 
federate  battery  on  the  mountain  fired  several 
shots,  but  none  of  them  quite  hit  the  locomotive, 
which  woke  the  echoes  with  its  shrill  whistling  as 
it  ran  back  out  of  range. 

When  the  rain  was  over,  Sherman  occupied  a 
strongly  intrenched  line  that  followed  the  contour 
of  Johnston's  and  was  at  nearly  all  points  close  to 
it.  Both  sides  maintained  skirmish-lines  that  were 
almost  as  strong  as  lines  of  battle,  and  occupied 
rifle-pits.  From  these  the  roar  of  musketry  was 
almost  unceasing,  and  there  was  a  steady  loss  of 
men.  On  June  14,  while  General  Sherman  was 
reconnoitering  the  enemy's  position,  he  observed 


426  JOHNSTON    AT    KENESAW.  [1864. 

a  battery  on  the  crest  of  Pine  Mountain,  and  near 
it  a  group  of  officers  with  field-glasses.  Ordering 
a  battery  to  fire  two  or  three  volleys  at  them,  he 
rode  on.  A  few  hours  later,  his  signal  officer  told 
him  that  the  Confederates  had  signalled  from  Pine 
Mountain  to  Marietta,  "  Send  an  ambulance  for 
General  Polk's  body."  The  group  on  the  moun 
tain  had  consisted  of  Generals  Johnston,  Hardee, 
and  Polk,  and  a  few  soldiers  that  had  gathered 
around  them.  One  of  the  cannon-balls  had  struck 
General  Polk  in  the  chest  and  cut  him  in  two. 
He  was  fifty-eight  years  old  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  had  been  educated  at  West  Point,  but  after 
ward  studied  theology,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  had  been  for  twenty  years  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Bishop  of  Louisiana. 

The  next  day  Sherman  advanced  his  lines, 
intending  to  attack  between  Kenesaw  and  Pine 
Mountain,  but  found  that  Johnston  had  withdrawn 
from  Pine  Mountain,  taking  up  a  shorter  line,  from 
Kenesaw  to  Lost  Mountain.  .  Sherman  promptly 
occupied  the  ground,  and  gathered  in  a  large 
number  of  prisoners,  including  the  I4th  Alabama 
regiment  entire.  The  next  day  he  pressed  forward 
again,  only  to  find  that  the  enemy  had  still  further 
contracted  his  lines,  abandoning  Lost  Mountain, 
but  still  occupying  Kenesaw,  and  covering  Marietta 
and  the  roads  to  Atlanta  with  the  extension  of 
his  left  wing,  The  successive  positions  to  which 
Johnston's  army  had  fallen  back  were  prepared 
beforehand  by  gangs  of  slaves  impressed  for  the 
purpose,  so  that  his  soldiers  had  little  digging 


18W.]  SHERMAN    IN    CLOSE    CONTACT.  427 

to  do,  and  could  save  their  strength  for  fighting. 
After  a  time  Sherman  adopted  a  similar  policy  by 
setting  at  work  the  crowds  of  negroes  that  flocked 
to  his  camp,  feeding  them  from  the  army  supplies, 
and  promising  them  ten  dollars  a  month,  as  he 
was  authorized  to  clo  by  an  act  of  Congress.  The 
fortifications  consisted  of  a  sort  of  framework  of 
rails  and  logs,  covered  with  earth  thrown  up  from 
a  ditch  on  each  side.  When  there  was  opportunity, 
they  were  finished  with  a  heavy  head-log  laid 
along  the  top,  which  rested  in  notches  cut  in 
other  logs  that  extended  back  at  right  angles  and 
formed  an  inclined  plane  down  which  it  could  roll 
harmlessly  if  knocked  out  of  place  by  a  cannon- 
shot.  Miles  of  such  works  were  often  constructed 
in  a  single  night;  and  they  were  absolutely 
necessary,  when  veteran  armies  were  facing  each 
other  with  weapons  of  precision  in  their  hands. 

Sherman  was  now  facing  a  little  south  of  east, 
and  kept  pressing  his  lines  closer  up  to  Johnston's, 
with  rifle  and  artillery  firing  going  on  all  the  time. 
On  the  2  ist  the  divisions  of  Generals  Wood  and 
Stanley  gained  new  positions,  on  the  southern 
flank  of  Kenesaw,  where  several  determined 
assaults  failed  to  dislodge  them  ;  and  the  next  day 
the  troops  of  Hooker  and  Schofield  pressed  for 
ward  to  within  three  miles  of  Marietta,  and  with 
stood  an  attack  by  Hood's  corps,  inflicting  upon 
him  a  loss  of  a  thousand  men.  As  the  National 
line  was  now  lengthened  quite  as  far  as  seemed  pru 
dent,  and  still  the  Confederate  communications 
were  not  severed,  Sherman  determined  upon  the 


428  BATTLE    OF    KENESAW.  [1864. 

hazardous  experiment  of  attacking  the  enemy  in 
his  intrenchments.  He  chose  two  points  for 
assault,  about  a  mile  apart,  and  on  the  morning  of 
the  2 /th  launched  heavy  columns  against  them, 
while  firing  was  at  the  same  time  kept  up  all  along 
the  line.  He  expected  to  break  the  centre,  and 
with  half  of  his  army  take  half  of  Johnston's  in 
reverse,  while  with  the  remainder  of  his  troops  he 
held  the  other  half  so  close  that  it  could  not  go  to 
the  rescue.  But  his  columns  wasted  away  before 
the  fire  from  the  intrenchments,  and,  as  in  Pickett's 
charge  at  Gettysburg  and  Grant's  assault  at  Cold 
Harbor,  only  a  .remnant  reached  the  enemy's  works, 
there  to  be  killed  or  captured.  Among  those  sacri 
ficed  were  Brigadier-Generals  Daniel  McCook 
and  Charles  G.  Harker,  both  of  whom  died  of  their 
wounds.  This  experiment  cost  Sherman  over 
two  thousand  five  hundred  men,  while  Johnston's 
loss  was  but  little  over  eight  hundred. 

It  was  evident  that  any  repetition  would  be  use 
less,  and  the  approved  principles  of  warfare  seemed 
to  supply  no  alternative.  What  General  Sherman 
therefore  did  was  to  disregard  the  maxim  that  an 
army  must  always  hold  fast  to  its  communications  ; 
and  by  doing  the  same  thing  on  a  grander  scale 
six  months  later  he  won  his  largest  fame.  He 
determined  to  let  go  of  the  railroad  north  of  Ken- 
esaw,  take  ten  days'  provisions  in  wagons,  and 
move  his  whole  army  southward  to  seize  the  road 
below  Marietta.  This  would  compel  Johnston 
either  to  fall  back  farther  toward  Atlanta,  or  come 
out  and  fight  him  in  his  intrenchments  —  which,  as 


1864.]  CROSSING    THE    CHATTAHOOCHEE.  429 

both  commanders  well  knew,  was  almost  certain 
destruction  to  the  assaulting  party.  In  the  night 
of  July  2,  McPherson's  troops,  who  had  the  left 
or  north  of  the  line,  drew  out  of  their  works  and 
marched  southward,  passing  behind  the  lines  held 
by  Thomas  and  Schofield.  This  was  the  same 
manoeuvre  as  that  by  which  Grant  had  carried  his 
army  to  its  successive  positions  between  the  Wil 
derness  and  the  James  River,  except  that  he 
moved  by  the  left  flank  and  Sherman  by  the  right, 
and  Grant  never  had  to  let  go  of  his  communica 
tions,  being  supplied  by  lines  of  wagons  from  vari 
ous  points  on  the  Potomac. 

When  Johnston  saw  what  Sherman  was  doing 
he  promptly  abandoned  his  strong  position  at 
Kenesaw,  and  fell  back  to  the  Chattahoochee  ;  but 
he  did  not,  as  Sherman  hoped,  attempt  to  cross 
the  stream  at  once.  Intrenchments  had  been  pre 
pared  for  him  on  the  north  bank,  and  here  he 
stopped.  Sherman,  expecting  to  catch  his  enemy 
in  the  confusion  of  crossing  a  stream,  pressed  on 
rapidly  with  his  whole  army,  and  ran  up  against 
what  he  says  was  one  of  the  strongest  pieces  of 
field  fortification  he  has  ever  seen.  A  thousand 
slaves  had  been  at  work  on  it  for  a  month.  And 
yet,  like  many  other  things  in  the  costly  business 
of  war,  it  was  an  enormous  outlay  to  serve  a  very 
brief  purpose.  For  Sherman  not  only  occupied 
ground  that  overlooked  it,  but  held  the  river  for 
miles  above  and  below,  and  was  thus  able  to  cross 
over  and  turn  the  position.  Johnston  must  have 
known  this  when  the  fortifications  were  in  process 


430  HOOD    SUPERSEDES   JOHNSTON,  [1864. 

of  construction,  and  their  only  use  was  to  protect 
his  army  from  assault  while  it  was  crossing 
the  river.  On  the  gth  of  July,  Schofield's  army 
crossed  above  the  Confederate  position,  lay 
ing  two  pontoon  bridges,  and  intrenched  itself  in 
a  strong  position  on  the  left  bank.  Johnston,  thus 
compelled  to  surrender  the  stream,  crossed  that 
night  with  his  entire  army,  and  burned  the  railroad 
and  other  bridges  behind  him.  Sherman  was 
almost  as  cautious  in  the  pursuit,  wherever  there 
was  any  serious  danger,  as  Johnston  was  in  the 
retreat ;  and  he  not  only  chose  an  upper  crossing, 
farther  from  Atlanta,  but  spent  a  week  in  prepa 
rations  to  prevent  disaster,  before  he  threw  over 
his  entire  army.  This  he  did  on  the  1 7th,  and  the 
next  day  moved  it  by  a  grand  right  wheel  toward 
the  city  of  Atlanta. 

The  Chattahoochee  was  the  last  great  obstruc 
tion  before  the  fortifications  of  the  Gate  City  were 
reached,  and  on  the  day  that  Sherman  crossed  it 
something  else  took  place,  which,  in  the  opinion 
of  many  military  critics,  was  even  more  disastrous 
to  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy.  This  was  the 
supersession  of  the  careful  and  skilful  Johnston  by 
General  John  B.  Hood,  an  impetuous  and  some 
times  reckless  fighter,  but  no  strategist.  The  con 
troversy  over  the  wisdom  of  this  action  on  the 
part  of  the  Confederate  Government  will  probably 
never  be  satisfactorily  closed.  The  merits  of  it 
can  be  sufficiently  indicated  by  two  brief  extracts. 
The  telegram  conveying  the  orders  of  the  War 
Department  said  :  "As  you  have  failed  to  arrest 


1864.]  AND    ASSUMES    THE    OFFENSIVE.  43! 

the  advance  of  the  enemy  to  the  vicinity  of  At 
lanta,  far  in  the  interior  of  Georgia,  and  express 
no  confidence  that  you  can  defeat  or  repel  him, 
you  are  hereby  relieved  from  the  command  of  the 
Army  and  Department  of  Tennessee,  which  you 
will  immediately  turn  over  to  General  Hood." 
General  Johnston  said  in  his  reply  :  "  As  to  the 
alleged  cause  of  my  removal,  I  assert  that  Sher 
man's  army  is  much  stronger  compared  with  that 
of  Tennessee  than  Grant's  compared  with  that  of 
Northern  Virginia.  Yet  the  enemy  has  been  com 
pelled  to  advance  much  more  slowly  to  the  vicin 
ity  of  Atlanta  than  to  that  of  Richmond  and 
Petersburg,  and  penetrated  much  deeper  into  Vir 
ginia  than  into  Georgia.  Confident  language  by 
a  military  commander  is  not  usually  regarded  as 
evidence  of  competence." 

Within  twenty-four  hours  the  National  army 
learned  that  its  antagonist  had  a  new  commander, 
and  there  was  eager  inquiry  as  to  Hood's  charac 
ter  as  a  soldier.  Schofield  and  McPherson  had 
been  his  classmates  at  West  Point,  and  from  their 
testimony  and  the  career  of  Hood  as  a  corps  com 
mander  it  was  easily  inferred  that  a  new  policy 
might  be  looked  for,  very  different  from  John 
ston's.  Sherman  warned  his  army  to  be  con 
stantly  prepared  for  sallies  of  the  enemy,  and  his 
prediction  did  not  wait  long  for  fulfilment.  On 
the  2Oth,  at  noonday,  as  his  army  was  slowly  clos 
ing  in  upon  the  city,  the  Confederates  left  the 
intrenchments  that  Johnston  had  prepared  for 
them  along  the  line  of  Peachtree  Creek,  where  he 


432  ACTION    AT    PEACHTREE    CREEK.  [1864. 

would  have  awaited  attack,  and  made  a  heavy 
assault  upon  Thomas,  who  held  the  right  of  the 
National  line.  The  weight  of  the  blow  fell  mainly 
upon  Hooker's  corps,  and  the  attack  was  so  furi 
ous  and  reckless  that  in  many  places  friend  and 
foe  were  intermingled,  fighting  hand  to  hand.  A 
heavy  column  of  Confederates  attempted  to  fall 
upon  an  exposed  flank  of  the  Fourth  Corps  ;  but 
Thomas  promptly  brought  several  batteries  to 
play  upon  it,  and  at  the  end  of  two  hours  the 
enemy  was  driven  back  to  his  intrenchments,  leav 
ing  hundreds  of  dead  on  the  field.  Hooker  also 
lost  heavily,  because  his  men  fought  without  in 
trenchments  or  cover  of  any  kind.  A  day  or  two 
later  the  line  of  works  along  Peachtree  Creek  was 
abandoned,  and  the  Confederates  fell  back  to  the 
immediate  defences  of  the  city. 

On  Sherman's  left,  which  crossed  the  line  of 
the  railroad  to  Augusta,  there  had  been  some 
fighting  for  the  possession  of  a  hill  and  other  ad 
vantageous  positions ;  but  though  these  were 
gained,  that  flank  was  still  without  proper  protec 
tion,  and  on  the  22d  Hood  moved  out  with  a  part 
of  his  army  and  attacked  it.  He  marched  by  a 
road  parallel  with  the  railroad,  and  the  contour  of 
the  ground  and  the  forests  hid  him  until  his  men 
burst  in  upon  the  rear  of  Sherman's  extreme  left, 
seized  a  battery  that  was  moving  through  the 
woods,  and  took  possession  of  some  of  the  camps. 
But  McPherson's  veterans  were  probably  in  ex 
pectation  of  such  a  movement,  and  under  the  direc 
tion  of  Generals  Logan,  Charles  R.  Wood,  and 


1864.]  BATTLE    OF    ATLANTA.  433 

Morgan  L.  Smith,  quickly  formed  to  meet  it.  That 
flank  of  the  army  was  "refused"  -turned  back 
at  a  right  angle  with  the  main  line  —  and  met  the 
onsets  of  the  Confederates  with  steady  cour 
age  from  noon  till  night.  Seven  heavy  assaults 
were  made,  resulting  in  seven  bloody  repulses, 
guns  were  taken  and  retaken,  and  finally  a  counter 
attack  was  made  on  the  Confederate  flank  by 
Wood's  division,  assisted  by  twenty  guns  that 
fired  over  the  heads  of  Wood's  men  as  they  ad 
vanced,  which  drove  back  the  enemy,  who  retired 
slowly  to  their  defences,  carrying  with  them  some 
of  the  captured  guns.  It  had  been  intended  that 
Wheeler's  Confederate  cavalry  should  capture 
McPherson's  supply-trains,  which  were  at  Decatur  ; 
but  the  troopers  were  fought  off  till  the  trains 
could  be  drawn  back  to  a  place  of  safety,  and 
Wheeler  only  secured  a  very  few  wagons.  The 
National  loss  in  this  battle  was  three  thousand 
five  hundred  and  twenty-one  men  killed,  wounded, 
and  missing,  and  ten  guns.  The  total  Confeder 
ate  loss  is  unknown,  but  it  was  very  heavy  ;  Gen 
eral  Logan  reported  thirty-two  hundred  and 
twenty  dead  in  front  of  his  lines,  and  two 
thousand  prisoners,  half  of  whom  were  wounded. 
The  most  grievous  loss  to  Sherman  was  General 
McPherson,  who  rode  off  into  the  woods  at  the 
first  sounds  of  battle,  almost  alone.  His  horse 
soon  came  back  bleeding  and  riderless,  and  an 
hour  later  the  General's  dead  body  was  brought 
to  headquarters.  McPherson  was  a  favorite  in 
the  army.  He  was  but  thirty-four  years  old,  and 


434        SHERMAN    MOVES    AGAIN    BY    THE    RIGHT.       [1854. 

with  the  exception  of  his  error  at  the  outset  of 
the  campaign,  by  which  Johnston  was  allowed  to 
escape  from  Dalton,  he  had  a  brilliant  military 
record.  General  Oliver  O.  Howard,  who  had 
lost  an  arm  at  Fair  Oaks  and  was  now  in  com 
mand  of  the  Fourth  Corps,  was  promoted  to 
McPherson's  place  in  command  of  the  Army  of 
the  Tennessee  ;  whereupon  General  Hooker,  com 
manding  the  Twentieth  Corps,  who  believed  that 
the  promotion  properly  belonged  to  him,  asked  to 
be  relieved,  and  left  the  army.  His  corps  was 
given  to  General  Henry  W.  Slocum. 

Sherman  now  repeated  his  former  manoeuvre, 
of  moving  by  the  right  flank  to  strike  the  enemy's 
communications  and  compel  him  either  to  retreat 
again  or  fight  at  a  disadvantage.  The  Army  of 
the  Tennessee  was  withdrawn  from  the  left  on  the 
27th,  and  marched  behind  the  Army  of  the  Cum 
berland  to  the  extreme  right,  with  the  intention  of 
extending  the  flank  far  enough  to  cross  the  rail 
road  south  of  Atlanta.  The  movement  was  but 
partially  performed  when  Hood  made  a  heavy 
attack  on  that  flank,  and  for  four  or  five  hours  on 
the  28th  there  was  bloody  fighting.  Logan's  men 
hastily  threw  up  a  slight  breastwork,  from  which 
they  repelled  six  charges  in  quick  succession,  and 
later  in  the  day  several  other  charges  by  the  Con 
federates  broke  against  the  immovable  lines  of 
the  Fifteenth  Corps.  Meanwhile  Sherman  sent 
General  Jefferson  C.  Davis's  division  to  make  a 
detour,  and  come  up  into  position  where  it  could 
strike  the  Confederate  flank  in  turn ;  but  Davis 


1864.]  CAVALRY    EXPEDITIONS.  435 

lost  his  way  and  failed  to  appear  in  time.  In  this 
battle  Logan's  corps  lost  five  hundred  and  seventy- 
two  men  ;  while  they  captured  five  battle-flags  and 
buried  about  six  hundred  of  the  enemy's  dead. 
The  total  Confederate  losses  during  July,  in 
killed  and  wounded,  were  reported  by  the  Sur 
geon-General  at  eighty-eight  hundred  and  forty- 
one,  to  which  Sherman  adds  two  thousand  prison 
ers.  Sherman  reports  his  own  losses  during  that 
month  —  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  —  at  ninety- 
seven  hundred  and  nineteen  ;  but  this  does  not 
include  the  cavalry.  Johnston's  estimate  of 
Sherman's  losses  is  so  enormous  that  if  it  had 
been  correct  his  Government  would  have  been 
clearly  justified  when  it  censured  him  for  not  driv 
ing  the  National  army  out  of  the  State. 

Sherman  had  sent  out  several  cavalry  expe 
ditions  to  break  the  railroads  south  of  Atlanta, 
but  with  no  satisfactory  results.  They  tore  up  a 
few  miles  of  track  each  time,  but  the  damage  was 
quickly  repaired.  The  marvellous  facility  with 
which  both  sides  mended  broken  railroads  and  re 
placed  burned  bridges  is  illustrated  by  many 
anecdotes.  Sherman  had  duplicates  of  the  im 
portant  bridges  on  the  road  that  brought  his  sup 
plies,  and  whenever  the  guerillas  destroyed  one, 
he  had  only  to  order  the  duplicate  to  be  set  up. 
On  the  26th  General  George  Stoneman  had  set 
out  with  a  cavalry  force  to  break  up  the  railroad 
at  Jonesboro,  with  the  intention  of  pushing  on 
rapidly  to  Macon  and  Andersonville,  and  releas 
ing  a  large  number  of  prisoners  that  were  con- 


436  STONEMAN'S  RAID.  [1864. 

fined  there  in  stockades  ;  while  at  the  same  time 
another  cavalry  force,  under  McCook,  was  sent 
around  by  the  right  to  join  Stoneman  at  Jones- 
boro.  They  destroyed  two  miles  of  track,  burned 
two  trains  of  cars  and  five  hundred  wagons,  killed 
eight  hundred  mules,  and  took  three  or  four  hun 
dred  prisoners.  But  McCook  was  surrounded  by 
the  enemy  at  Newnan,  and  only  escaped  with  a 
loss  of  six  hundred  men  ;  while  Stoneman  de 
stroyed  seventeen  locomotives  and  a  hundred 
cars,  and  threw  a  few  shells  into  Macon,  but  was 
surrounded  at  Clifton,  where  he  allowed  himself 
and  seven  hundred  of  his  men  to  be  captured  in 
order  to  facilitate  the  escape  of  the  remainder  of 
his  command. 

Perhaps  it  was  quite  as  well  that  he  did  not 
reach  Andersonville,  for  General  Winder,  in  com 
mand  there,  had  issued  this  order  on  July  27th  : 
"  The  officers  on  duty  and  in  charge  of  battery  of 
Florida  artillery  will,  on  receiving  notice  that  the 
enemy  has  approached  within  seven  miles  of  this 
post,  open  fire  on  the  stockade  with  grape-shot, 
without  reference  to  the  situation  beyond  this  line 
of  defence."  The  conduct  of  those  on  guard  duty 
at  the  prison  leaves  little  'doubt  that  this  order 
would  have  been  obeyed  with  alacrity. 

Two  or  three  weeks  later,  Wheeler's  Con 
federate  cavalry  passed  to  the  rear  of  Sherman's 
army,  captured  a  large  drove  of  cattle,  and  broke 
up  two  miles  of  railroad  ;  and  about  the  same 
time  Kilpatrick's  cavalry  rode  entirely  round  At 
lanta,  fought  and  defeated  a  combined  cavalry 


1884.]  FALL    OF    ATLANTA.  437 

and  infantry  force,  and  inflicted  upon  the  railroad 
such  damage  as  he  thought  it  would  take  ten  days 
to  repair ;  but  within  twenty-four  hours  trains 
were  again  running  into  the  city. 

Finding  that  cavalry  raids  could  effect  nothing, 
Sherman  posted  Slocum's  corps  at  the  railroad 
bridge  over  the  Chattahoochee,  and,  moving  again 
by  the  right  —  rapidly  but  cautiously,  concealing 
the  movement  as  far  as  possible  —  he  swung*  all  the 
remainder  of  his  army  into  position  south  of  At 
lanta,  where  they  tore  up  the  railroads,  burning 
the  ties  and  twisting  the  rails,  and  then  advanced 
toward  the  city.  There  was  some  fighting,  and 
Govan's  Confederate  brigade  was  captured  entire, 
with  ten  guns;  but  the  greater  part  of  Hood's 
forces  escaped  eastward  in  the  night  of  Septem 
ber  i.  They  destroyed  a  large  part  of  the  Gov 
ernment  property  that  night,  and  the  sound  of 
the  explosions  caused  Slocum  to  move  down  from 
the  bridge,  when  he  soon  found  that  he  had 
nothing  to  do  but  walk  into  Atlanta.  A  few  days 
later  Sherman  made  his  headquarters  there,  dis 
posed  his  army  in  and  around  the  city,  and  pre 
pared  for  permanent  possession. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

THE     BATTLE     OF     MOBILE     BAY. 

THE  capture  of  Mobile  had  long  been  desired, 
both  because  of  its  importance  as  a  base  of  opera 
tions,  whence  expeditions  could  move  inland,  and 
communication  be  maintained  with  the  fleet,  and 
because  blockade-running  at  that  port  could  not 
be  entirely  prevented  by  the  vessels  outside. 
Grant  and  Sherman  had  planned  to  have  the  city 
taken  by  forces  moving  east  from  New  Orleans 
and  Port  Hudson  ;  but  everything  had  gone  wrong 
in  that  quarter. 

The  principal  defences  of  Mobile  Bay  were 
Fort  Morgan,  on  Mobile  Point,  and  Fort  Gaines, 
three  miles  northwest  of  it,  on  the  extremity  of 
Dauphin  Island.  The  passage  between  these  two 
works  was  obstructed  by  innumerable  piles  for  two 
miles  out  from  Fort  Gaines,  and  from  that  point 
nearly  to  Fort  Morgan  by  a  line  of  torpedoes. 
The  eastern  end  of  this  line  was  marked  by  a  red 
buoy,  and  from  that  point  to  Fort  Morgan  the 
channel  was  open,  to  admit  blockade-runners. 

Farragut's  fleet  had  been  for  a  long  time  pre 
paring  to  pass  these  forts,  fight  the  Confederate 
fleet  inside  (which  included  a  powerful  iron-clad 
ram),  and  take  possession  of  the  bay.  But  he 
wanted  the  cooperation  of  a  military  force  to  cap- 


18C4.] 


THE    FLEET    IN    LINE    OF    BATTLE. 


439 


ture  the  forts.  This  was  at  last  furnished,  under 
General  Gordon  Granger,  and  landed  on  Dauphin 
Island  August  4.  Farragut  had  made  careful 
preparations,  and,  as  at  New  Orleans,  given  mi 
nute  instructions  to  his  captains.  The  attacking 
column  consisted  of 
four  iron-clad  moni 
tors  and  seven 
wooden  sloops-of- 
war.  To  each  sloop 
was  lashed  a  gun 
boat  on  the  port 
(or  left)  side,  to 
help  her  out  in  case 
she  was  disabled. 
The  heaviest  fire 
was  expected  from 
Fort  Morgan,  on 
the  right  or  star 
board  side.  Before 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  5th  all  were 
under  way,  the  monitors  forming  a  line  abreast 
of  the  wooden  ships  and  to  the  right  of  them. 
The  "  Brooklyn  "  headed  the  line  of  the  wooden 
vessels,  because  she  had  an  apparatus  for  pick 
ing  up  torpedoes.  They  steamed  along  in 
beautiful  style,  coming  up  into  close  order  as 
they  neared  the  fort,  so  that  there  were  spaces 
of  but  a  few  yards  from  the  stern  of  one  vessel  to 
the  bow  of  the  next.  The  forts  and  the  Confed 
erate  fleet,  which  lay  just  inside  of  the  line  of  tor 
pedoes,  opened  fire  upon  them  half  an  hour  before 


>£EXICO 


440  LOSS    OF    THE    TECUMSEH.  [1864. 

they  could  bring1  their  guns  to  answer.  They 
made  the  "  Hartford,"  Farragut's  flag-ship,  their 
especial  target,  lodged  a  hundred-and-twenty- 
pound  ball  in  her  mainmast,  sent  great  splinters 
flying  across  her  deck,  more  dangerous  than  shot, 
and  killed  or  wounded  many  of  her  crew.  One 
ball  from  a  Confederate  gunboat  killed  ten  men 
and  wounded  five.  The  other  wooden  vessels 
suffered  in  like  manner  as  they  approached ;  but 
when  they  came  abreast  of  the  fort  they  poured 
in  rapid  broadsides  of  grape-shot,  shrapnel,  and 
shells,  which  quickly  cleared  the  bastions  and 
silenced  the  batteries. 

The  captains  had  been  warned  to  pass  to  the 
east  of  the  red  buoy.  But  Captain  T.  A.  M.  Cra 
ven,  of  the  monitor  "  Tecumseh,"  eager  to  engage 
the  Confederate  ram  "  Tennessee,"  which  was  be 
hind  the  line  of  torpedoes,  made  straight  for  her. 
The  consequence  was  that  his  vessel  struck  a 
torpedo,  which  exploded,  and  she  went  down  in  a 
few  seconds,  carrying  with  her  the  captain  and 
most  of  the  crew.  The  "  Brooklyn  "  stopped  when 
she  found  torpedoes,  and  began  to  back.  This 
threatened  to  throw  the  whole  line  into  confusion 
while  under  fire,  and  defeat  the  project  ;  but  Far- 
ragut  instantly  ordered  more  steam  on  his  own 
vessel  and  her  consort,  drew  ahead  of  the  "  Brook 
lyn,"  and  led  the  line  to  victory.  All  this  time  he 
was  in  the  rigging  of  the  "  Hartford,"  and  a  quarter 
master  had  gone  up  and  tied  him  to  one  of  the 
shrouds,  so  that  if  wounded  he  should  not  fall 
to  the  deck.  As  the  fleet  passed  into  the  bay, 


1864.]  THE    FIGHT    WITH    THE    TENNESSEE.  441 

several  of  the  larger  vessels  were  attacked  by  the 
ram  "  Tennessee  "  and  considerably  damaged,  while 
their  shot  seemed  to  have  little  effect  on  her  heavy 
iron  mail.  At  length  she  withdrew  to  her  anchor 
age,  and  the  order  was  given  from  the  flag-ship: 
"  Gunboats  chase  enemy's  gunboats,"  whereupon 
the  lashings  were  cut  and  the  National  gunboats 
were  off  in  a  flash.  In  a  little  while  they  had  de 
stroyed  or  captured  all  the  Confederate  vessels 
save  one,  which  escaped  up  the  bay,  where  the 
water  was  too  shallow  for  them  to  follow  her. 

But  as  the  fleet  was  coming  to  anchor,  in  the  belief 
that  the  fight  was  over,  the  "  Tennessee"  left  her 
anchorage  and  steamed  boldly  into  the  midst  of  her 
enemies,  firing  in  every  direction  and  attempting  to 
ram  them.  The  wooden  vessels  stood  to  the  fight 
in  the  most  gallant  manner,  throwing  useless  broad 
sides  against  the  monster,  avoiding  her  blows  by 
skilful  maneuvering,  and  trying  to  run  her  clown 
till  some  of  them  hammered  their  bows  to  splinters. 
The  three  monitors  pounded  at  her  to  more  pur 
pose.  They  fired  one  fifteen-inch  solid  shot  that 
penetrated  her  armor,  they  jammed  some  of  her 
shutters  so  that  the  portholes  could  not  be  opened, 
they  shot  away  her  steering-gear,  and  knocked  off 
her  smoke-stack,  so  that  life  on  board  of  her  be 
came  intolerable,  and  she  surrendered.  Her  com 
mander,  Franklin  Buchanan,  formerly  of  the 
United  States  navy,  had  been  seriously  wounded. 

This  victory  cost  Farragut's  fleet  fifty-two  men 
killed  and  one  hundred  and  seventy  wounded, 
besides  one  hundred  and  thirteen  that  went  down  in 


442  INCIDENTS.  1864.] 

the  "Tecumseh."  Knowles,  the  same  old  quarter 
master  that  had  tied  Farragut  in  the  rigging,  says 
he  saw  the  Admiral  coming  on  deck  as  the  twenty- 
five  dead  sailors  of  the  "  Hartford  "  were  being  laid 
out,  "  and  it  was  the  only  time  I  ever  saw  the  old 
gentleman  cry,  but  the  tears  came  into  his  eyes  like 
a  little  child."  The  Confederate  fleet  lost  ten  men 
killed,  sixteen  wounded,  and  two  hundred  and 
eighty  prisoners.  The  loss  in  the  forts  is  unknown. 
They  were  surrendered  soon  afterward  to  the  land 
forces,  with  a  thousand  men. 

One  incident  of  this  battle  suggests  the  thought 
that  many  of  the  famous  deeds  of  old-world  chiv 
alry  have  been  paralleled  in  American  history. 
When  the  "  Tecumseh  "  was  going  down,  Captain 
Craven  and  his  pilot  met  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder 
that  afforded  the  only  escape,  and  the  pilot  stepped 
aside  for  his  superior  officer.  "  After  you,  pilot," 
said  Craven,  drawing  back,  for  he  knew  it  was  by 
his  own  fault,  not  the  pilot's,  that  the  vessel  was 
struck.  "  There  was  nothing  after  me,"  said  the 
pilot,  in  telling  the  story;  "  for  the  moment  I 
reached  the  deck  the  vessel  seemed  to  drop  from 
under  me,  and  went  to  the  bottom." 

Another  Confederate  iron-clad,  the  "Albemarle," 
was  destroyed  in  October.  Lieutenant  William 
B.  Cushing,  of  the  navy,  ascended  Roanoke  river 
in  the  night,  with  a  volunteer  crew,  in  a  small 
steam  launch,  placed  a  torpedo  under  her  over 
hang,  exploded  it,  and  sent  her  to  the  bottom. 
The  launch  was  destroyed,  and  Cushing  and  one 
of  his  companions  escaped  by  swimming. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

THE     ADVANCE    ON    PETERSBURG. 

IT  had  been  a  part  of  Grant's  plan,  in  opening  the 
campaign  of  1864,  that  General  B.  F.  Butler,  with 
a  force  that  was  called  the  Army  of  the  James, 
should  march  against  Richmond  and  Petersburg. 
He  moved  promptly,  at  the  same  time  with  the 
armies  led  by  Grant  and  Sherman,  embarking  his 
forces  on  transports  at  Fortress  Monroe,  and  first 
making  a  feint  of  steaming  up  York  River.  In  the 
night  the  vessel  turned  back,  and  steamed  up  the 
James.  Early  the  next  day,  May  6,  the  troops 
were  landed  at  City  Point,  at  the  junction  of  the 
James  and  the  Appomattox,  and  intrenchments 
were  thrown  up.  Detachments  were  sent  out  to 
cut  the  railroads  south  of  Petersburg,  and  between 
that  city  and  Richmond  ;  but  no  effective  work 
was  done.  General  Butler  was  ordered  to  secure 
a  position  as  far  up  the  James  as  possible,  and  ad 
vanced  to  Drury's  Bluff,  where  he  was  attacked 
by  a  force  under  General  Beauregard  and  driven 
back  to  Bermuda  Hundred.  At  the  point  where 
the  curves  of  the  James  and  the  Appomattox 
bring  those  two  streams  within  less  than  three 
miles  of  each  other,  Butler  threw  up  a  line  of  in 
trenchments,  with  his  right  resting  on  the  James 
at  Dutch  Gap  and  his  left  on  the  Appomattox  at 


444  THE    ADVANCE    ON    PETERSBURG.  [1864. 

Point  of  Rocks.  The  position  was  very  strong, 
and  it  would  be  hopeless  for  the  Confederates  to 
assault  it.  The  disadvantage  was,  that  Beauregard 
had  only  to  throw  up  a  parallel  line  of  intrench- 
ments  across  the  same  neck  of  land,  and  Butler 
could  not  advance  a  step.  What  he  had  secured, 
however,  was  afterward  valuable  as  a  protection  for 
City  Point,  when  Grant  swung  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  across  the  James,  which  became  thence 
forth  the  landing-place  for  supplies. 

Grant  had  reenforced  Butler  with  troops  under 
General  William  F.  Smith,  and  planned  to  have  an 
immediate  advance  on  Petersburg  while  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  was  crossing  the  James  (June  14, 
1864.)  The  work  was  entrusted  to  Smith,  who 
was  to  get  close  to  the  Confederate  intrenchments 
in  the  night,  and  carry  them  at  daybreak.  He 
unexpectedly  came  upon  the  enemy  fortified  be 
tween  City  Point  and  Petersburg,  and  had  a  fight 
in  which  he  was  successful,  but  it  caused  a  loss  of 
precious  time.  Grant  hurried  Hancock's  troops 
over  the  river,  to  follow  Smith.  But  this  corps 
was  delayed  several  hours  waiting  for  rations,  and 
finally  went  on  without  them.  It  appears  that 
Hancock's  instructions  were  defective,  and  he  did 
not  know  that  he  was  expected  to  take  Peters 
burg  till  he  received  a  note  from  Smith  urging  him 
to  hurry  forward.  Smith  spent  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  1 5th  in  reconnoitering  the  defences  of  Pe 
tersburg,  which  were  but  lightly  manned,  and  in 
the  evening  carried  a  portion  of  them  by  assault, 
the  work  being  done  by  colored  troops  under 


ASSAULTING    THE    INTRENCHMENTS. 


445 


General  Edward  W.  Hincks.     In  the  morning  of 
the    1 6th    Hancock's    men    captured    a   small   ad 
ditional  portion  of 
the    works  ;   but 
here  that  General 
had  to  be  relieved 
for   ten  days,  be 
cause  of  the  break 
ing  out  of  a  griev 
ous  wound  that  he 
had     received     at 
Gettysburg.    Gen 
eral  David  B.  Bir- 
ney  succeeded  him 
in    the    command 
of  the  corps.   Gen 
eral   Meade  came 
upon  the  ground, 
ordered      another 
assault,    and    car 
ried    another  por 
tion.      But  by  this 
time     Beauregard 
had  thrown  more 
men  into  the  forti 
fications,   and   the 
fighting  was  stub 
born   and  bloody.      It  was  continued  through  the 
1 7th,  with  no  apparent  result,  except  that  at  night 
the  Confederates  fell  back  to  an  inner  line,  and  in 
the  morning  the  National  line  was  correspondingly 
advanced.      In  these  preliminary  operations  against 


446       THE    FIGHT    FOR    THE    WELDON    RAILROAD.    [1864. 

Petersburg  the  National  loss  was  nearly  ten  thou 
sand  men.  There  is  no  official  statement  of  the 
Confederate  loss,  but  the  indications  were  that  it 
was  about  the  same. 

When  Lee  found  where  Grant  was  going,  he 
moved  east  and  south  of  Richmond,  crossing  the 
James  at  Drury's  Bluff,  and  presently  confronting 
his  enemy  in  the  trenches  east  and  south  of  Peters 
burg.  The  country  is  well  adapted  for  defence, 
and  the  works  were  extensive  and  very  strong. 
Seeing  that  the  city  itself  could  not  be  immediately 
captured,  Grant  endeavored  to  sever  its  impor 
tant  communications.  The  Norfolk  Railroad  was 
easily  cut  off  ;  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
which  for  some  time  had  hardly  known  any  differ 
ence  between  day  and  night,  was  allowed  a  few 
days  of  rest  and  comparative  quiet.  But  the  most 
important  line  was  the  Weldon  Railroad,  which 
brought  up  Confederate  supplies  from  the  south, 
and  Grant  and  Meade  made  an  early  attempt  to 
seize  it.  On  the  2ist  and  226.  Birney's  corps 
was  pushed  to  the  left,  extending  south  of  the 
city,  while  Wright's  was  sent  by  a  route  further 
south  to  strike  directly  at  the  railroad.  Wright 
came  into  a  position  nearly  at  right  angles  with 
Birney,  facing  west  toward  the  railroad,  while 
Birney  faced  north  toward  the  city.  They  were 
not  in  connection,  however,  and  did  not  sufficiently 
guard  their  flanks.  A  heavy  Confederate  force 
under  General  A.  P.  Hill,  coming  out  to  meet  the 
movement,  drove  straight  into  the  gap,  turned 
the  left  flank  of  the  Second  Corps,  threw  it  into 


1864.1  MINING   THE    WORKS.  447 

confusion,  and  captured  seventeen  hundred  men 
and  four  guns.  The  fighting  was  not  severe  ;  but 
the  movement  against  the  railroad  was  arrested. 
Hill  withdrew  to  his  intrenchments  in  the  evening, 
the  Second  Corps  reestablished  its  line,  and  the 
Sixth  intrenched  itself  in  a  position  facing  the  rail 
road  and  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  it.  On  this 
flank,  affairs  remained  substantially  in  this  condi 
tion  till  the  middle  of  August. 

But  meanwhile  something  that  promised  great 
results  was  going  on  near  the  centre  of  the  line,  in 
front  of  Burnside's  corps.  A  regiment  composed 
largely  of  Pennsylvania  miners  dug  a  tunnel  un 
der  the  nearest  point  of  the  Confederate  works. 
These  works  consisted  of  forts  or  redans  at  inter 
vals,  with  connecting  lines  of  rifle-pits,  and  the 
tunnel  was  directed  under  one  of  the  forts.  The 
digging  was  begun  in  a  ravine,  to  be  out  of  sight 
of  the  enemy,  and  the  earth  was  carried  out  in 
barrows  made  of  cracker-boxes,  and  hidden  under 
brushwood.  The  Confederates  learned  what  was 
being  done,  and  the  location  of  the  tunnel,  but 
did  not  succeed  in  striking  it  by  countermining. 
They  came  to  have  vague  and  exaggerated  fears 
of  it,  and  many  people  in  Petersburg  believed  that 
the  whole  city  was  undermined.  The  work  occu 
pied  nearly  a  month,  and  when  finished  it  consist 
ed  of  a  straight  tunnel  five  hundred  feet  long, 
ending  in  a  cross-gallery  seventy  feet  long.  In 
this  gallery  was  placed  eight  thousand  pounds  of 
powder,  with  slow  matches.  The  day  fixed  for 
the  explosion  was  the  3Oth  of  July.  To  distract 


448  THE    EXPLOSION.  [1864. 

attention  from  it  and  diminish  if  possible  the  force 
that  held  the  lines  immediately  around  Petersburg, 
Hancock  was  sent  across  the  James  at  Deep  Bot 
tom,  where  an  intrenched  camp  was  held  by  a 
force  under  General  John  G.  Foster,  to  make  a 
feint  against  the  works  north  of  the  river.  This 

o 

had  the  desired  effect,  as  Lee,  anxious  for  the 
safety  of  Richmond,  hurried  a  large  part  of  his 
army  across  at  Drury's  Bluff  to  confront  Hancock. 
With  this  exception,  the  arrangements  for  the  en 
terprise  were  all  bad.  The  explosion  of  the  mine 
alone  would  do  little  or  no  good  ;  but  it  was  ex 
pected  to  make  such  a  breach  in  the  enemy's  line 
that  a  strong  column  could  be  thrust  through  and 
take  the  works  in  reverse.  For  such  a  task  the 
best  of  troops  are  required  ;  but  Burnside's  corps 
was  by  no  means  the  best  in  the  army,  and  the 
choice  of  a  division  to  lead,  being  determined  by 
lot,  fell  upon  General  James  H.  Ledlie's,  which 
was  probably  the  worst,  and  certainly  the  worst 
commanded.  Furthermore,  the  obstructions  were 
not  properly  cleared  away  to  permit  the  rapid 
deployment  of  a  large  force  between  the  lines. 

A  few  minutes  before  five  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing,  the  mine  was  exploded.  A  vast  mass  of  earth, 
surrounded  by  smoke,  with  the  flames  of  burning 
powder  playing  through  it,  rose  two  hundred  feet 
into  the  air,  seemed  to  poise  there  for  a  moment, 
and  then  fell.  The  fort  with  its  guns  and  garri 
son —  about  three  hundred  men  of  a  South  Caro 
lina  regiment  —  was  completely  destroyed,  and  in 
place  of  it  was  a  crater  about  thirty  feet  deep  and 


1864.]  THE    SLAUGHTER   AT    THE   CRATER.  449 

nearly  two  hundred  feet  long.  At  the  same 
moment  the  heavy  batteries  in  the  National  line 
opened  upon  the  enemy,  to  protect  the  assaulting 
column  from  artillery  fire.  Ledlie's  division 
pushed  forward  into  the  crater,  and  there  stopped. 
General  Ledlie  himself  did  not  accompany  the  men, 
and  there  seemed  to  be  no  one  to  direct  them. 
Thirty  golden  minutes  passed,  during  which  the 
Confederates,  who  had  run  away  in  terror  from 
the  neighboring  intrenchments,  made  no  effort  to 
drive  out  the  assailants.  At  the  end  of  that  time 
they  began  to  rally  to  their  guns,  and  presently 
directed  a  heavy  fire  upon  the  men  in  the  crater. 
Burnside  tried  to  remedy  the  difficulty  by  pushing 
out  more  troops,  and  at  length  sent  his  black 
division,  which  charged  through  the  crater  and  up 
the  slope  beyond,  but  was  there  met  by  a  fire 
before  which  it  recoiled  ;  for  the  Confederates  had 
constructed  an  inner  line  of  breastworks  command 
ing  the  front  along  which  the  explosion  had  been 
expected.  Finally,  both  musketry  and  artillery 
were  concentrated  upon  the  disorganized  mass  of 
troops  huddled  in  the  crater,  while  shells  were 
lighted  and  rolled  down  its  sloping  sides,  till  those 
who  were  left  alive  scrambled  out  and  got  away  as 
best  they  could.  This  affair  cost  the  National 
army  about  four  thousand  men  —  many  of  them 
prisoners  —  while  the  Confederate  loss  was  hardly 
a  thousand.  Soon  after  this  General  Burnside  was 
relieved,  at  his  own  request,  and  the  command  of 
his  corps  was  given  to  General  John  G.  Parke. 
On  the  1 3th  of  August,  Hancock  made  another 


45O  ENGAGEMENT    AT    REAMS    STATION.  [1864. 

and  more  serious  demonstration  from  Deep  Bottom 
toward  Richmond.  He  assaulted  the  defences  of 
the  city,  and  fighting  was  kept  up  for  several  days. 
He  gained  nothing,  for  Lee  threw  a  strong  force 
into  the  intrenchments  and  repelled  his  attacks. 
But  there  was  great  gain  at  the  other  end  of  the 
line  ;  for  Grant  took  advantage  of  the  weakening 
of  Lee's  right  to  seize  the  Weldon  Railroad. 
Warren's  corps  was  moved  out  to  the  road  on  the 
i8th,  took  a  position  across  it  at  a  point  about  four 
miles  from  Petersburg,  and  intrenched.  On  the 
iQth,  and  again  on  the  2ist,  Lee  made  determined 
attacks  on  this  position,  but  was  repelled  with 
heavy  loss.  Warren  clung  to  his  line,  and  made 
such  dispositions  as  at  length  enabled  him  to  meet 
any  assault  with  but  little  loss  to  himself.  A  day 
or  two  later,  Hancock  returned  from  the  north 
side  of  the  James,  and  was  rapidly  marched  to  the 
extreme  left,  to  pass  beyond  Warren  and  destroy 
some  miles  of  the  Weldon  Railroad.  He  tore 
up  the  track  and  completely  disabled  it  to  a  point 
three  miles  south  of  Reams  Station,  and  on  the 
25th  sent  out  Gibbon's  division  to  continue  the 
work  some  miles  farther.  But  the  approach  of  a 
heavy  Confederate  force  under  General  A.  P.  Hill 
caused  it  to  fall  back  to  Reams  Station,  where 
with  Miles's  division  (six  thousand  men  in  all)  and 
two  thousand  cavalry  it  held  a  line  of  intrench 
ments.  Three  assaults  upon  this  line  were  repelled, 
with  bloody  loss  to  the  Confederates.  General 
Hill  then  ordered  Heth's  division  to  make  another 
assault  and  carry  the  works  at  all  hazards.  Heth 


18C4.J  SIEGE    OF    PETERSBURG    BEGUN.  45 1 

found  a  place  from  which  a  part  of  the  National 
line  could  be  enfiladed  by  artillery,  and  after  a 
brisk  bombardment  assaulted,  carried  the  works, 
and  captured  three  batteries.  Miles's  men  were 
rallied,  retook  a  part  of  the  line  and  one  of  the 
batteries,  and  formed  a  new  line,  which  they  held, 
assisted  by  the  dismounted  cavalry,  who  poured  an 
effective  fire  into  the  flank  of  the  advancing  Con 
federates.  At  night  both  sides  withdrew  from 
the  field.  Hancock  had  lost  twenty-four  hun 
dred  men,  seventeen  hundred  of  whom  were 
prisoners.  The  Confederate  loss  is  unknown, 
but  it  was  severe. 

From  that  time  Grant  held  possession  of  the 
Weldon  Railroad,  and  whatever  supplies  came  to 
the  Confederate  army  by  that  route  had  to  be 
hauled  thirty  miles  in  wagons.  The  National 
army  constructed  for  its  own  use  a  railroad  in  the 
rear  of  and  parallel  with  its  long  line  of  intrench- 
ments,  running  from  City  Point  to  the  extreme 
left  flank.  This  road  was  not  particular  about 
grades  and  curves,  but  simply  followed  the  natural 
contour  of  the  ground.  Then  began  what  is  called 
the  siege  of  Petersburg,  which  was  not  a  siege  in 
the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  because  the  Con 
federate  communications  were  open  ;  but  the 
military  preparations  and  processes  were  identical 
with  those  known  as  siege  operations. 

Partly  to  check  the  movements  of  General 
Hunter  in  the  Shenandoah  valley,  and  partly  with 
the  hope  that  an  attack  on  Washington  would 
cause  Grant  to  withdraw  from  before  Richmond 


45  2  EARLY  S    RAID.  [is&4. 

and  Petersburg,  Lee  sent  Early's  corps  into  the 
valley.  Hunter,  being  out  of  ammunition,  was 
obliged  to  retire  before  the  Confederates,  and 
Early  marched  down  to  the  Potomac  unopposed, 
and  threatened  the  national  capital.  Serious  fears 
were  entertained  that  he  would  actually  enter  the 
city,  and  all  sorts  of  hurried  preparations  were 
made  to  prevent  him,  Department  clerks  being 
under  arms  and  every  available  man  pressed  into 
the  service. 

General  Lew  Wallace,  in  command  at  Balti 
more,  gathered  a  body  of  recruits  and  went  out  to 
meet  Early,  not  with  the  hope  of  defeating  him, 
but  only  of  delaying  him  till  a  sufficient  force 
could  be  sent  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
Ricketts's  division  of  the  Sixth  Corps  had  already 
set  out  for  Baltimore,  and  on  arriving  there 
immediately  followed  Wallace.  They  met  the 
enemy  at  the  Monocacy,  thirty-five  miles  from 
Washington,  July  9,  and  took  up  a  position  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  stream,  covering  the  roads  to 
the  capital.  Wallace  had  six  field  guns  and  a 
small  force  of  cavalry,  and  disposed  his  line  so  as 
to  hold  the  bridges  and  fords  as  long  as  possible. 
The  Confederates  attacked  at  first  in  front,  with 
a  strong  skirmish  line  and  sixteen  guns,  and  there 
was  bloody  fighting  at  one  of  the  bridges.  Then 
they  changed  their  tactics,  marched  a  heavy  force 
down  stream,  crossed  at  a  ford  out  of  range  of  the 
National  artillery,  and  then  marched  up  stream 
again  to  strike  Wallace's  left  flank.  That  part  of 
the  line  was  held  by  Ricketts,  who  changed  front 


1864.]  BATTLE    OF    THE    MONOCACY.  453 

to  meet  the  attack,  and  was  promptly  reenforced 
from  Wallace's  scanty  resources.  Two  assaults  in 
line  of  battle  were  repelled,  after  some  destructive 
fighting,  and  Wallace  determined  still  to  hold  his 
ground,  as  he  was  hourly  expecting  three  additional 
regiments.  But  the  afternoon  wore  away  without 
any  appearance  of  assistance,  and  when  he  saw 
preparations  for  another  and  heavier  assault  he 
determined  to  retreat.  While  the  left  was  being 
withdrawn,  the  right,  under  General  Tyler,  was 
ordered  to  prevent  the  remaining  Confederate 
force  from  crossing  at  the  bridges.  The  wooden 
bridge  was  burned,  and  the  stone  bridge  was  held 
to  the  last  possible  moment,  when  Tyler  also  re 
treated.  The  missing  regiments  were  met  on  the 
road,  and  there  was  no  pursuit.  This  action  was 
not  important  from  its  magnitude ;  but  in  that 
it  probably  saved  the  city  of  Washington  from 
pillage  and  destruction,  it  was  of  the  first  impor 
tance.  Wallace  has  received  high  praise  for  his 
promptness  and  energy  in  fighting  a  battle  of 
great  strategic  value  when  he  knew  that  the 
immediate  result  must  be  the  defeat  of  his  own 
force.  He  lost  about  fourteen  hundred  men,  half 
of  whom  were  prisoners.  The  Confederates 
admitted  a  loss  of  six  hundred. 

Early  now  marched  on  Washington,  and  on  the 
1 2th  was  within  half  a  dozen  miles  of  it,  where 
some  heavy  skirmishing  took  place  with  a  force 
sent  out  by  General  Christopher  C.  Augur.  But 
by  this  time  veteran  troops  were  pouring  into  the 
defences  of  the  city,  and  the  Confederate  leader 


454  BURNING    OF    CHAMBERSBURG.  [1864. 

wisely  retreated,  carrying"  considerable  plunder 
that  he  had  gathered  in  his  advance.  A  part  of 
his  force  was  struck  at  Winchester,  July  12,  by 
one  under  General  Averell,  and  defeated,  losing 
four  guns  and  three  or  four  hundred  men. 

Three  days  later,  Early  defeated  a  force  under 
General  George  Crook,  and  drove  it  across  the 
Potomac,  after  which  he  sent  his  cavalry,  under 
Generals  McCausland  and  Bradley  T.  Johnson,  to 
make  a  rapid  raid  through  Maryland  into  Pennsyl 
vania.  McCausland  visited  Chambersburg,  and 
demanded  of  the  citizens  the  immediate  payment  of 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  gold,  or  five  hun 
dred  thousand  dollars  in  United  States  currency, 
with  a  threat  of  burning  the  town.  The  money  was 
not  forthcoming,  the  torch  was  promptly  applied, 
about  two  thirds  of  the  buildings  were  destroyed, 
and  three  hundred  families  found  themselves  shel 
terless.  Early,  who  ordered  the  burning  and  as 
sumes  all  responsibility,  justifies  it  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  in  retaliation  for  the  burning  of  the 
houses  of  well-known  secessionists  in  Virginia. 

This  raid  created  a  panic  among  the  inhabitants 
of  western  Maryland  and  southern  Pennsylvania, 
many  of  whom  fled  from  their  homes,  driving  off 
their  cattle  and  carrying  whatever  they  could. 
There  was  no  lack  of  troops  to  send  against  Early, 
the  difficulty  was  to  find  him  or  get  accurate 
information  as  to  his  movements.  The  pursuit 
began  to  be  effective  only  when  Grant  sent  Sheri 
dan,  in  August,  to  command  in  that  department. 


•CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

SHERIDAN  IN  THE    SHENANDOAH. 

IT  had  become  plainly  evident  that  something 
must  be  done  to  cancel  the  whole  Shenandoah 
Valley  from  the  map  of  the  theatre  of  war.  The 
mountains  that  flanked  it  made  it  a  secure  lane 
down  which  a  Confederate  force  could  be  sent  at 
almost  any  time  to  the  very  door  of  Washington  ; 
while  the  crops  that  were  harvested  in  its  fertile 
fields  were  a  constant  temptation  to  those  who  had 
to  provide  for  the  necessities  of  an  army.  General 
Grant  took  the  matter  in  hand  in  earnest  after 
Early's  raid  and  the  burning  of  Chambersburg. 
His  first  care  was  to  have  the  separate  military  de 
partments  in  that  section  consolidated,  his  next  to 
find  a  suitable  commander,  and  finally  to  send  an 
adequate  force.  He  would  have  been  satisfied 
with  General  Hunter,  who  was  already  the  ranking 
officer  there ;  but  Hunter  had  been  badly  ham 
pered  in  his  movements  by  constant  interference 
from  Washington,  and  knowing  that  he  had  not 
the  confidence  of  General  Halleck,  he  asked  to  be 
relieved,  since  he  did  not  wish  to  embarrass  the 
cause.  In  this,  Grant  says,  Hunter  "showed  a 
patriotism  that  was  none  too  common  in  the  army. 
There  were  not  many  major-generals  who  would 
voluntarily  have  asked  to  have  the  command  of  a 


456  SHERIDAN    IN   COMMAND.  [1864. 

department  taken  from  them  on  the  supposition 
that  for  some  particular  reason,  or  for  any  reason, 
the  service  would  be  better  performed."  Grant  ac 
cepted  his  offer,  and  telegraphed  for  General 
Sheridan  to  come  and  take  command  of  the  new 
department.  Sheridan  was  on  hand  promptly,  and 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  about  thirty  thousand 
troops,  including  eight  thousand  cavalry,  who  were 
named  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah. 

Sheridan  was  now  in  his  thirty-fourth  year  ;  and 
Secretary  Stanton,  with  a  wise  caution,  made  some 
objection,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  very  young 
for  a  command  so  important.  He  had  not  stood 
remarkably  high  at  West  Point,  being  ranked 
thirty-fourth  in  his  class  when  the  whole  number 
was  fifty-two  ;  but  he  had  already  made  a  brilliant 
record  in  the  war,  winning  his  brigadier-general 
ship  by  a  victory  at  Booneville,  Mo.,  and  being 
conspicuous  for  his  gallantry  and  skill  at  Perryville, 
Murfreesboro,  Chickamauga,  and  Mission  Ridge, 
and  for  his  bold  riding  around  Lee's  army  in  the 
spring  campaign  of  1864.  Under  him  and  Custer, 
Crook,  Merritt,  and  Kilpatrick,  the  cavalry  arm  of 
the  National  service,  weak  and  inefficient  at  the 
opening  of  the  war,  had  become  a  swift  and  sure 
weapon  against  the  now  declining  but  still  defiant 
Confederacy.  It  had  been  noted  by  everybody 
that  Grant  exhibited  an  almost  unerring  judgment 
in  the  choice  of  his  lieutenants. 

In  his  instructions,  which  were  at  first  written 
out  for  Hunter  and  afterward  transferred  to  Sheri 
dan,  Grant  said  :  "  In  pushing  up  the  Shenandoah 


1864.] 


HIS    INSTRUCTIONS. 


457 


Valley,  where  it  is  ex 
pected  you  will  have  to 
go  first  or  last,  it  is  desi 
rable  that  nothing  should 
be  left  to  invite  the  enemy 
to  return.  Take  all  pro 
visions,  forage,  and  stock 
wanted  for  the  use  of 
your  command.  Such  as 
cannot  be  consumed,  de 
stroy.  It  is  not  desirable 
that  the  buildings  should 
be  destroyed  —  they 
should  rather  be  pro 
tected  ;  but  the  people 
should  be  informed  that 
so  long  as  an  army  can 
subsist  amonor  them  re- 

o 

currences  of  these  raids 
must  be  expected  ;  and 
we  are  determined  to 
stop  them  at  all  hazards." 
The  condition  of  things 
at  Washington  —  where 
Halleck  always,  and  Stan- 
ton  sometimes,  inter- 
fered  with  orders  passing 
that  way  —  is  vividly  sug 
gested  by  a  despatch  sent 
in  cipher  to  Grant  at 
this  time,  August  3. 
Mr.  Lincoln  wrote:  "I 


458  LINCOLN'S  CRITICISM.  [ISM. 

have  seen  your  despatch,  in  which  you  say,  'I  want 
Sheridan  put  in  command  of  all  the  troops  in  the 
field,  with  instructions  to  put  himself  south  of  the 
enemy  and  follow  him  to  the  death.  Wherever 
the  enemy  goes,  let  our  troops  go  also.'  This  I 
think  is  exactly  right,  as  to  how  our  forces  should 
move.  But  please  look  over  the  despatches  you 
may  have  received  from  here,  even  since  you  made 
that  order,  and  discover,  if  you  can,  that  there  is 
any  idea  in  the  head  of  any  one  here  of  '  putting 
our  army  south  of  the  enemy,'  or  of '  following  him 
to  the  death '  in  any  direction.  I  repeat  to  you  it 
will  neither  be  done  nor  attempted  unless  you 
watch  it  every  day  and  hour,  and  force  it/ 
This  caused  Grant  to  go  at  once  to  Maryland  and 
put  things  in  train  for  the  vigorous  campaign  that 
he  had  planned  in  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah. 
Perhaps  Mr.  Lincoln  had  found  a  way  to  give 
Halleck  also  an  impressive  hint ;  for  the  very  next 
day  that  general  telegraphed  to  Grant,  "  I  await 
your  orders,  and  shall  strictly  carry  them  out,  what 
ever  they  may  be." 

Early,  whose  main  force  was  on  the  south  bank 
of  the  Potomac,  above  Harper's  Ferry,  still  had  a 
large  part  of  his  cavalry  in  Maryland,  where  they 
were  loading  their  wagons  with  wheat  on  the 
battle-field  of  Antietam,  and  seizing  all  the  cattle 
that  the  farmers  had  not  driven  off  beyond  their 
reach.  But  these  were  now  recalled.  As  soon  as 
Sheridan  could  get  his  force  well  in  hand,  he 
moved  it  skilfully  southward  toward  Winchester, 
in  order  to  threaten  Early's  communications  and 


1864.]  POSITIONS    AT    WINCHESTER.  459 

draw  him  into  a  battle.  Early  at  once  moved  his 
army  into  a  position  to  cover  Winchester,  but  was 
unwilling  to  fight  without  the  reinforcements  that 
were  on  the  way  to  him  from  Lee's  army ;  so  he 
retreated  as  far  as  Fisher's  Hill  to  meet  them,  and 
was  followed  by  Sheridan,  who  was  about  to  attack 
there  when  warned  by  Grant  to  be  cautious,  as  the 
enemy  was  too  strong  for  him.  He  therefore  with 
drew  to  his  former  position  on  Opequan  Creek, 
facing  west  toward  Winchester  and  covering 
Snicker's  Gap,  through  which  reinforcements 
were  to  come  to  him.  Here  he  was  attacked, 
August  21,  and  after  a  fight  in  which  two  hundred 
and  sixty  men  on  the  National  side  were  killed  or 
wounded,  he  drew  back  to  a  stronger  position  at 
Halltown.  He  had  complained,  in  a  letter  to 
Grant,  that  there  was  not  a  good  military  position 
in  the  whole  valley  south  of  the  Potomac.  In  his 
retrograde  movement,  as  he  reported,  he  "  de 
stroyed  everything  eatable  south  of  Winchester." 
Early  reconnoitred  the  position  at  Halltown  and 
found  it  too  strong  to  be  attacked,  but  for  three 
or  four  weeks  remained  with  his  whole  force  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  valley,  threatening  raids  into 
Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  West  Virginia,  break 
ing  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  and  the 
Chesapeake  Canal,  keeping  the  authorities  at 
Washington  in  a  constant  state  of  anxiety,  and  all 
the  time  inviting  attack  from  Sheridan.  There 
were  frequent  minor  engagements,  mainly  by 
cavalry,  with  varying  results.  In  one,  Custer's 
division  only  escaped  capture  by  crossing  the 


460  SHERIDAN    GOES    IN.  [1864. 

Potomac  in  great  haste.  In  another,  a  force  under 
General  John  B.  Mclntosh  captured  the  8th  South 
Carolina  infantry  entire  —  though  that  regiment 
now  consisted  of  but  one  hundred  and  six 
men.  It  had  probably  consisted  of  a  thousand 
men  at  the  outset,  and  the  wear  and  tear  of  three 
years  of  constant  warfare  had  reduced  it,  like 
many  others  on  either  side,  to  these  meagre  pro 
portions. 

Grant  and  Sheridan  were  in  perfect  accord  as 
to  the  best  policy,  and  they  pursued  it  steadily,  in 
spite  of  the  uneasiness  at  Washington,  the  com 
plaints  of  the  Maryland  farmers,  and  the  criticisms 
of  the  newspapers.  They  knew  that  with  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  constantly  busy  in  his  front, 
feeling  out  for  new  positions  beyond  Petersburg, 
or  massing  north  of  the  James  in  close  proximity 
to  Richmond,  or  threatening  to  break  through  his 
centre,  the  time  must  come  when  Lee  would  recall 
a  part  of  the  forces  that  he  had  sent  to  the  valley, 
and  that  would  be  the  moment  for  Sheridan  to 
spring  upon  Early.  The  opportunity  arrived  on 
the  i  Qth  of  September,  when  Lee  had  recalled  the 
command  of  R.  H.  Anderson,  with  which  he  had 
reenforced  Early  in  August,  and  Early,  as  if  to 
double  his  danger,  had  sent  a  large  part  of  his 
remaining  troops  to  Martinsburg,  twenty  miles 
away.  Grant's  order  to  Sheridan  at  this  juncture 
was  "  Go  in,"  and  Sheridan  promptly  went  in. 

The  various  movements  of  the  two  armies  had 
brought  them  around  to  substantially  the  same 
positions  that  they  held  in  the  engagement  of 


1864.]  BATTLE    OF    THE    OPEQUAN.  461 

August  21  —  Early  east  of  and  covering  Winches 
ter,  Sheridan  along  the  line  of  Opequan  Creek, 
which  is  about  five  miles  east  of  the  city.  Sheri 
dan's  plan  was  to  march  straight  on  Winchester 
with  his  whole  force,  and  crush  Early's  right 
before  the  left  could  be  withdrawn  from  Martins- 
burg  to  assist  it.  He  set  his  troops  in  motion  at 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  to  converge  toward 
the  Berryville  pike,  a  macadamized  road  crossing 
the  Opequan,  passing  through  a  ravine,  and  lead 
ing  into  Winchester.  Wilson's  cavalry  secured 
the  crossing  of  the  stream,  and  cleared  the  way 
through  the  ravine  for  the  infantry  ;  but  there  was, 
as  usual,  some  difficulty  in  moving  so  many  troops 
by  a  single  road,  and  it  was  midday  before  the 
battle  began.  This  delay  gave  Early  an  oppor 
tunity  to  bring  back  his  troops  from  Martinsburg 
and  unite  his  whole  force  in  front  of  Winchester. 
Sheridan's  infantry  deployed  under  a  heavy  artil 
lery  fire  from  Early's  right  wing,  and  advanced  to 
the  attack,  when  the  battle  began  almost  simul 
taneously  along  the  whole  line,  and  was  kept  up 
till  dark.  There  were  no  field-works,  the  only 
shelter  being  such  as  was  afforded  by  patches  of 
woodland  and  rolling  ground,  and  the  fighting  was 
obstinate  and  bloody.  The  usual  difficulty  of 
preserving  the  line  intact  while  advancing  over 
broken  ground  was  met,  and  wherever  a  gap 
appeared  it  was  promptly  taken  advantage  of.  In 
one  instance,  a  Confederate  force  led  by  General 
Robert  E.  Rodes  .drove  in  between  the  Sixth 
and  Nineteenth  corps,  crumbled  their  flanks,  and 


462  BATTLE    OF    THE   OPEQUAN.  [1864. 

turned  to  take  the  Nineteenth  in  reverse  ;  but  at 
this  juncture  a  division  of  the  Sixth  Corps  under 
General  David  A.  Russell,  coming  forward  to  fill 
the  gap,  struck  the  flank  of  the  intruding  Con 
federate  force  in  turn,  enfiladed  it  with  a  rapid  fire 
of  canister  from  the  5th  Maine  battery,  and,  sent 
it  back  in  confusion,  capturing  a  large  number  of 
prisoners.  In  this  movement  Generals  Rodes 
and  Russell  were  both  killed.  On  the  National 
right  the  fighting  was  at  first  in  favor  of  the  Con 
federates,  and  that  wing  was  temporarily  borne 
back  some  distance. 

Sheridan  now  brought  up  his  reserves,  which  he 
had  intended  to  move  south  of  Winchester  to  cut 
off  retreat,  and  sent  them  into  the  fight  on  his 
right  flank,  while  the  cavalry  divisions  of  Merritt 
and  Averell,  under  Torbert,  came  in  by  a  detour 
and  struck  Early's  left,  pushing  back  his  cavalry 
and  getting  into  the  rear  of  a  portion  of  his  in 
fantry.  From  this  time  Sheridan  drove  every 
thing  before  him.  The  Confederates  found  some 
shelter  in  a  line  of  field-works  near  the  town,  but 
were  soon  driven  out,  and  fled  through  the  streets 
in  complete  rout  and  confusion.  But  darkness 
favored  them,  and  most  of  them  escaped  up  the 
valley.  Their  severely  wounded  were  left  in 
Winchester.  The  National  loss  was  nearly  five 
thousand  men.  The  Confederates  lost  about  four 
thousand — including  two  Generals,  Rodes  and 
Godwin  —  with  five  guns  and  nine  battle-flags. 
Early  established  a  strong  rearguard,  and  managed 
to  save  his  trains.  The  news  of  this  battle  was 


1864.]  EARLY    AT    FISHERS    HILL.  463 

received  with  unmeasured  enthusiasm  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  in  Washington,  and  at  the  North, 
where  every  newspaper  repeated  in  its  bold  head 
lines  Sheridan's  expression  that  he  had  "  sent 
Early  whirling  through  Winchester." 

When  Early  retreated  southward  after  this 
battle  of  the  Opequan  (or  battle  of  Winchester, 
as  the  Confederates  called  it),  he  took  up  a  posi 
tion  at  Fisher's  Hill,  where  the  valley  is  but  four 
miles  wide.  As  Sheridan  had  said,  there  was  no 
really  good  military  position  in  the  valley,  unless 
for  a  much  larger  army  than  either  he  or  Early 
commanded.  At  Fisher's  Hill,  the  Confederate 
right  rested  on  the  North  Fork  of  the  Shenandoah 
and  was  sufficiently  protected  by  it;  but  for  the 
left  there  was  no  natural  protection.  Early's  men 
set  to  work  vigorously  constructing  intrenchments 
and  preparing  abatis.  Sheridan  followed  promptly, 
his  advance  guard  skirmishing  with  the  Confeder 
ate  pickets  and  driving  them  through  Strasburg. 
There  was  an  eminence  overlooking  the  Confed 
erate  intrenchments,  and  after  a  sharp  fight  this 
was  gained  by  the  National  troops,  who  at  once 
began  to  cut  down  the  trees  and  plant  batteries. 
When  Sheridan  had  thoroughly  reconnoitered  the 
position,  he  planned  to  send  the  greater  part  of  his 
cavalry  through  the  Luray  Valley  to  get  into  the 
rear  of  the  Confederates  and  cut  off  retreat,  then 
to  attack  in  front  with  the  Sixth  and  Nineteenth 
corps,  while  Crook  with  the  Eighth  Corps  should 
make  a  detour  and  come  in  on  the  enemy's  left 
flank.  The  ground  was  so  broken  that  the  man- 


464  BATTLE    OF    FISHER'S    HILL.  [1864. 

ceuvres  were  necessarily  slow,  and  it  was  almost 
sunset  when  Crook  reached  Early's  flank.  But 
the  little  daylight  that  remained  was  used  to  the 
utmost  advantage.  Crook  came  out  of  the  woods 
so  suddenly  and  silently  that  the  Confederates  at 
that  end  of  the  line  were  simply  astounded.  Their 
works  were  taken  in  reverse,  and  their  dismounted 
cavalry  was  literally  overrun.  The  forward  move 
ment  of  the  troops  in  front  was  prompt,  the  right 
of  the  Sixth  Corps  joining  properly  with  the  left 
of  Crook's,  and  everywhere  Sheridan  and  his  lieu 
tenants  were  with  the  men,  repeating  the  com 
mand  to  push  forward  constantly,  without  stop 
ping  for  anything.  The  result  was  a  complete  rout 
of  the  Confederates,  who  fled  in  confusion  once 
more  up  the  valley,  leaving  sixteen  of  their  guns 
behind.  But  Sheridan's  plan  for  their  capture  was 
foiled  because  his  cavalry,  meeting  a  stou,t  resist 
ance  from  Early's  cavalry,  failed  to  get  through 
to  their  rear.  Pursuit  was  made  in  the  night,  but 
to  no  purpose.  In  this  battle,  which  was  fought 
on  the  22d  of  September,  the  National  loss  was 
about  four  hundred,  the  Confederate  about  four 
teen  hundred. 

For  the  next  three  days  the  retreat  was  contin 
ued,  Sheridan's  whole  force  following  rapidly,  and 
often  being  near  enough  to  engage  the  skirmishers 
or  exchange  shots  with  the  artillery.  Early  went 
to  Port  Republic  to  meet  reinforcements  that  were 
on  the  way  to  him  from  Lee's  army,  and  there 
stopped.  Sheridan  halted  his  infantry  at  Harri- 
sonburg,  but  sent  his  cavalry  still  farther  up  the 


1864.]  DESTRUCTION    IN    THE    VALLEY.  465 

valley.  The  column  under  Torbert  reached 
Staunton,  where  it  destroyed  a  large  quantity  of 
arms,  ammunition,  and  provisions,  and  then  tore 
up  the  track  of  the  Virginia  Central  Railroad 
eastward  to  Waynesboro,  and  pulled  down  the 
iron  bridge  over  the  stream  at  that  point.  Here 
it  was  attacked  in  force,  and  retired.  Grant 
wanted  the  movement  continued  to  Charlottesville  ; 
but  Sheridan  found  serious  difficulties  in  his  lack 
of  supplies  and  transportation  so  far  from  his  base. 
He  adopted  the  alternative  of  rendering  the  valley 
untenable  for  any  army  that  could  not  bring  its 
provisions  with  it,  and  Grant  had  repeated  his 
early  instructions,  saying,  "  Leave  nothing  for  the 
subsistence  of  an  army  on  any  ground  you  aban 
don  to  the  enemy."  On  the  5th  of  October  the 
march  down  the  valley  was  begun.  The  infantry 
went  first,  and  the  cavalry  followed,  being  stretched 
entirely  across  the  valley,  burning  and  destroying, 
as  it  wTent,  everything  except  the  dwellings. 
Sheridan  said  in  his  report  :  "  I  have  destroyed 
over  two  thousand  barns  filled  with  wheat,  hay, 
and  farming  implements  ;  over  seventy  mills  filled 
with  flour  and  wheat  ;  have  driven  in  front  of  the 
army  over  four  thousand  head  of  stock,  and  have 
killed  and  issued  to  the  troops  not  less  than  three 
thousand  sheep." 

Early,  being  reenforced,  now  turned  and  pur 
sued  Sheridan.  At  Tom's  Brook,  on  the  7th,  the 
National  cavalry  under  Torbert,  Merritt,  and  Custer 
engaged  the  Confederate  cavalry  under  Rosserand 
Lamont.  After  a  spirited  engagement,  Rosser  was 


466  BATTLE    OF    CEDAR    CREEK.  [1864. 

driven  back  twenty-five  miles,  and  Torbert  captured 
over  three  hundred  prisoners,  eleven  guns,  and  a 
large  number  of  wagons — or,  as  was  said  in  the 
report,  "  Everything  they  had  on  wheels." 

Sheridan  halted  at  Cedar  Creek,  north  of  Stras- 
burg,  and  put  his  army  into  camp  there,  while  he 
was  summoned  to  Washington  for  conference  as 
to  the  continuation  of  the  campaign,  leaving  Gen 
eral  Wright  in  command.  Early,  finding  nothing 
in  the  valley  for  his  men  and  horses  to  eat,  was 
obliged  to  do  one  thing  or  another  without  delay 
-  advance  and  capture  provisions  from  the  stores 
of  his  enemy,  or  retreat  and  give  up  the  ground. 
He  chose  to  assume  the  offensive,  and  in  the 
night  of  the  i8th  moved  silently  around  the  left  of 
the  National  line,  taking  the  precaution  to  leave 
behind  even  the  soldiers'  canteens,  which  might 
have  made  a  clatter.  In  the  misty  dawn  of  the 
1 9th  the  Confederates  burst  upon  the  flank  held 
by  Crook's  corps,  with  such  suddenness  and  vehe 
mence  that  it  was  at  once  thrown  into  confusion 
and  routed.  They  were  among  the  tents  before 
anybody  knew  they  were  coming,  and  many  of 
Crook's  men  were  shot  or  stabbed  before  they 
could  fairly  awake  from  their  sleep.  The  Nine 
teenth  Corps  was  also  routed,  but  the  Sixth  stood 
firm,  and  the  Confederates  themselves  became 
somewhat  broken  and  demoralized  by  the  eager 
ness  of  the  men  to  plunder  the  camps.  Wright's 
Sixth  Corps  covered  the  retreat  ;  and  when  Sheri 
dan,  hearing  of  the  battle  and  riding  with  all  speed 
from  Winchester,  met  the  stream  of  fugitives,  he 


1864.]  BATTLE    OF    CEDAR   CREEK.  467 

deployed  some  cavalry  to  stop  them,  and  in 
spired  his  men  with  a  short  and  oft-repeated  ora 
tion,  which  is  reported  as  "  Face  the  other  way, 
boys  !  We  are  going  back  to  our  camps  !  We 
are  going  to  lick  them  out  of  their  boots  !  "  This 
actually  turned  the  tide,  a  new  line  was  quickly 
formed  and  intrenched,  and  when  Early  attacked 
it  he  met  with  a  costly  repulse.  In  the  afternoon 
Sheridan  advanced  to  attack  in  turn,  sending  his 
irresistible  cavalry  around  both  flanks,  and  after 
some  fighting  the  whole  Confederate  line  was 
broken  up  and  driven  in  confusion,  with  the  cav 
alry  close  upon  its  heels.  All  the  guns  lost  in 
the  morning  were  retaken,  and  twenty-four  be 
sides.  In  this  double  battle  the  Confederate  loss 
was  about  thirty-one  hundred;  the  National,  fifty- 
seven  hundred  and  sixty-four,  of  whom  seven 
teen  hundred  were  prisoners  taken  in  the  morn 
ing  and  hurried  away  toward  Richmond.  The 
campaign  in  the  valley  was  now  practically  ended. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE    PRESIDENTIAL   ELECTION. 

THE  length  of  time  that  the  war  had  continued, 
the  drain  upon  the  resources  of  both  belligerents, 
and  especially  the  rapidity  and  destructiveness  of 
the  battles  in  the  summer  of  1864,  had  naturally 
suggested  the  question  whether  there  were  not 
some  possibility  of  a  satisfactory  peace  without 
further  fighting.  In  each  section  there  was  a 
party,  or  at  least  there  were  people,  who  believed 
that  such  a  peace  was  possible,  and  the  loud  ex 
pression  of  this  opinion  led  to  several  efforts  at 
negotiation,  as  it  also  shaped  the  policy  of  a  great 
political  party.  In  July  Colonel  James  F.  Jacques, 
of  the  73d  Illinois  regiment,  accompanied  by 
James  R.  Gilmore  (known  in  literature,  by  his 
delineations  of  Southern  life  just  before  the  war, 
under  the  pen-name  of  "  Edmund  Kirke"),  went  to 
Richmond  under  flag  of  truce,  where  they  were 
admitted  to  a  long  interview  with  the  chief  officers 
of  the  Confederate  Government.  They  had  gone 
with  Mr.  Lincoln's  informal  sanction,  but  had  no 
definite  terms  to  offer;  and  if  they  had,  Mr. 
Davis's  remarks  show  that  it  would  have  been  in 
vain.  At  the  close  he  said  :  "Say  to  Mr.  Lincoln, 
from  me,  that  I  shall  at  any  time  be  pleased  to 
receive  proposals  for  peace  on  the  basis  of  our 


1864.]  THE    FREMONT    CONVENTION.  469 

independence.  It  will  be  useless  to  approach  me 
with  any  other."  In  that  same  month  of  July, 
three  Southerners  of  some  note  created  a  great 
sensation  by  a  conference  at  Niagara  Falls,  with 
Horace  Greeley,  on  the  subject  of  peace  ;  but  the 
affair  came  to  nothing. 

The  first  Presidential  convention  of  the  year 
met  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  on  the  last  day  of  May,  in 
response  to  a  call  addressed  "  to  the  radical  men 
of  the  nation."  The  platform  declared,  among 
other  things,  "  that  the  rebellion  must  be  sup 
pressed  by  force  of  arms,  and  without  compro 
mise  ;  that  the  rebellion  has  destroyed  slavery,  and 
the  federal  Constitution  should  be  amended  to  pro 
hibit  its^reestablishment ;  that  the  question  of  the 
reconstruction  of  the  rebellious  States  belongs  to 
the  people,  through  their  representatives  in  Con 
gress,  and  not  to  the  Executive  ;  and  that  confis 
cation  of  the  lands  of  the  rebels,  and  their  distri 
bution  among  the  soldiers  and  actual  settlers,  is  a 
measure  of  justice."  General  John  C.  Fremont 
was  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  and  General 
John  Cochrane  for  the  Vice-Presidency.  Though 
this  was  the  least  of  the  conventions,  yet  in  all 
the  points  here  quoted  from  its  platform,  with  the 
exception  of  the  last,  it  indicated  the  policy  that 
was  ultimately  pursued  by  the  nation  ;  and  it  is  a 
singular  fact  that  the  exceptional  plank  (confisca 
tion)  was  objected  to  by  both  candidates  in  their 
letters  of  acceptance. 

The   Republican    National   Convention  met  in 
Baltimore  on   the  7th  of  June.     It  dropped  the 


47O  THE    REPUBLICAN    PLATFORM.  [1864. 

word  "  Republican  "  for  the  time  being,  and  simply 
called  itself  a  Union  Convention,  to  accommodate 
the  war  Democrats,  who  were  now  acting  with  the 
Republican  party.  Not  only  the  free  States  were 
represented,  but  some  that  had  been  claimed  by 
the  Confederacy  and  had  been  partially  or  wholly 
recovered  from  it,including  Tennessee,  Louisiana, 
and  Arkansas.  The  platform,  reported  by  Henry 
J.  Raymond,  one  of  the  ablest  of  American  journal 
ists,  was  probably  written  largely  if  not  entirely 
by  him.  Its  most  significant  passages  were  these  : 

"  That  we  approve  the  determination  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  not  to  compro 
mise  with  the  rebels,  nor  to  offer  them  any  terms 
of  peace  except  such  as  may  be  based  upon  an  un 
conditional  surrender  of  their  hostility  and  a  re 
turn  to  their  full  allegiance  to  the  Constitution 
and  the  laws  of  the  United  States. 

"  That  as  slavery  was  the  cause  and  now  con 
stitutes  the  strength  of  this  rebellion,  and  as  it 
must  be  always  and  everywhere  hostile  to  the 
principles  of  republican  government,  justice  and 
the  national  safety  demand  its  utter  and  complete 
extirpation  from  the  soil  of  the  Republic.  .  ... 
We  are  in  favor,  furthermore,  of  such  an  amend 
ment  to  the  Constitution,  to  be  made  by  the 
people  in  conformity  with  its  provisions,  as  shall 
terminate  and  forever  prohibit  the  existence  of 
slavery  within  the  limits  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States. 

"That  we  approve  and  applaud  the  practical 
wisdom,  the  unselfish  patriotism,  and  unswerving 


1864.]  RE-NOMINATION    OF    LINCOLN.  471 

fidelity  to  the  Constitution  and  the  principles  of 
American  liberty,  with  which  Abraham  Lincoln 
has  discharged,  under  circumstances  of  unparal 
leled  difficulty,  the  great  duties  and  responsibilities 
of  the  Presidential  office  ;  that  we  approve  and 
indorse,  as  demanded  by  the  emergency  and 
essential  to  the  preservation  of  the  nation,  and  as 
within  the  Constitution,  the  measures  and  acts 
which  he  has  adopted  to  defend  the  nation  against 
its  open  and  secret-  foes  ;  that  we  approve  espe 
cially  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipation,  and  the 
employment  as  Union  soldiers  of  men  heretofore 
held  in  slavery, 

"  That  the  National  faith,  pledged  for  the  re 
demption  of  the  public  debt,  must  be  kept  inviolate; 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  every  loyal  State  to  sustain 
the  credit  and  promote  the  use  of  the  National 
currency." 

On  the  first  ballot  all  the  delegations  voted  for 
Mr.  Lincoln,  except  that  from  Missouri,  whose 
vote  was  given  to  General  Grant.  According  to 
the  official  report  of  the  proceedings,  the  first  bal 
lot  for  a  candidate  for  Vice-President  resulted  in 
two  hundred  votes  for  Andrew  Johnson,  one 
hundred  and  eight  for  Daniel  S.  Dickinson  (a  war 
Democrat),  one  hundred  and  fifty  for  Hannibal 
Hamlin  (who  then  held  the  office),  and  fifty-nine 
scattering  ;  several  delegations  changed  their  votes 
to  Johnson,  and  he  was  almost  unanimously  nomi 
nated.  But  according  to  the  testimony  of  one 
who  was  on  the  floor  as  a  delegate,  the  nomination 
of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  immediately  followed  by  an 


472  THE    DEMOCRATIC    CONVENTION  [1864. 

outburst  of  cheering,  yelling,  and  the  wildest  ex 
citement,  and  in  the  confusion  and  uproar  it  was 
declared  that  Mr.  Johnson  had  somehow  been 
nominated.  He  had  been  a  poor  white  in  the 
South,  and  a  life-long  Democrat,  but  had  done 
some  brave  things  in  withstanding  secession,  and 
some  bitter  things  in  thwarting  the  slave-holders. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  appointed  him  Military  Governor 
of  Tennessee  in  March,  1862,  and  he  was  still  act 
ing  in  that  capacity.  Whatever  may  have  been 
the  wisdom  of  nominating  a  war  Democrat  when 
the  war  was  so  near  its  close,  the  Republican  party 
found  reason  in  the  next  four  years  to  repent  its 
choice  of  Andrew  Johnson  as  bitterly  as  its  prede 
cessor  the  Whig  party  had  repented  the  choice  of 
John  Tyler,  a  life-long  Democrat,  in  1840.  But 
the  nominating  conventions  that  have  sufficiently 
considered  the  contingent  importance  of  the  Vice- 
Presidency  have  been  exceedingly  few. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention,  called  to 
meet  in  Chicago,  did  not  convene  till  nearly  three 
months  after  the  Republican,  August  29.  In  the 
mean  time  the  hard  fighting  around  Richmond 
and  on  Sherman's  road  to  Atlanta,  the  fruits  of 
which  were  not  yet  evident,  the  appearance  of 
Confederate  forces  at  the  gates  of  Washington, 
and  the  delay  of  Sheridan's  movements  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  had  produced  a  more  gloomy 
feeling  than  had  been  experienced  before  since  the 
war  began;  and  this  feeling,  as  was  to  be  expected, 
operated  in  favor  of  whatever  opposed  the  National 
administration.  The  suffering  and  the  discon- 


1864.]  AND    PLATFORM,  473 


tented  are  always  prone  to  cry  out  for  a  change, 
without  defining  what  sort  of  change  they  want,  or 
considering  what  any  change  is  likely  to  bring. 
Seizing  upon  this  advantage,  the  Democratic  Con 
vention  made  a  very  clear  and  bold  issue  with  the 
Republican.  It  was  presided  over  by  Horatio 
Seymour,  then  Governor  of  New  York,  while 
Clement  L.  Vallandigham  was  a  member  of  the 
committee  on  resolutions,  and  is  supposed  to  have 
written  the  most  significant  of  them.  The  plat 
form  presented  these  propositions  : 

"  That  this  Convention  does  explicitly  declare, 
as  the  sense  of  the  American  people,  that,  after 
four  years  of  failure  to  restore  the  Union  by  the 
experiment  of  war,  during  which,  under  the  pre 
tence  of  military  necessity,  of  a  war  power  higher 
than  the  Constitution,  the  Constitution  itself  has 
been  disregarded  in  every  part,  and  public  liberty 
and  private  right  alike  trodden  down,  and  the 
material  prosperity  of  the  country  essentially  im 
paired  —  justice,  humanity,  liberty,  and  the  public 
welfare  demand  that  immediate  efforts  be  made 
for  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  with  a  view  to  an 
ultimate  convention  of  all  the  States,  or  other 
peaceable  means,  to  the  end  that,  at  the  earliest 
practicable  moment,  peace  may  be  restored  on  the 
basis  of  the  Federal  Union  of  the  States. 

"  That  the  aim  and  object  of  the  Democratic  party 
is  to  preserve  the  Federal  Union  and  the  rights  of 
the  States  unimpaired." 

On  the  first  ballot  General  George  B.  McClellan 
was  nominated  for1  President,  receiving  two  hun- 


474  FREMONT'S  WITHDRAWAL.  [ISM. 

dred  and  two  and  a  half  votes,  against  twenty-three 
arid  a  half  for  Thomas  H.  Seymour,  of  Connecti 
cut.  George  H.  Pendleton,  of  Ohio,  an  ultra 
peace  man,  was  nominated  for  Vice-President. 
General  McClellan,  in  his  letter  of  acceptance,  vir 
tually  set  aside  a  portion  of  the  platform,  and  said  : 
"  The  reestablishment  of  the  Union,  in  all  its  integ 
rity,  is  and  must  continue  to  be  the  indispensable 
condition  in  any  settlement.  .  .  .  No  peace 
can  be  permanent  without  Union." 

The  declaration  that  the  war  had  been  a  failure 
received  a  crushing  comment  the  day  after  the 
Convention  adjourned  ;  for  on  that  day  Sherman's 
army  marched  into  Atlanta.  And  this  success  was 
followed  by  others, — notably  Sheridan's  brilliant 
movements  in  the  valley  —  all  of  which,  when 
heralded  in  the  Republican  journals,  were  accom 
panied  by  the  quotation  from  the  Democratic  plat 
form  declaring  the  war  a  failure.  General  Fre 
mont  withdrew  from  the  contest  in  September, 
saying  in  his  published  letter  : 

"  The  policy  of  the  Democratic  party  signifies 
either  separation,  or  reestablishment  with  slavery. 
The  Chicago  platform  is  simply  separation  ;  Gen 
eral  McClellan's  letter  of  acceptance  is  reestablish 
ment  with  slavery.  The  Republican  candidate  is, 
on  the  contrary,  pledged  to  the  reestablishment  of 
the  Union  without  slavery;  and,  however  hesitat 
ing  his  policy  may  be,  the  pressure  of  his  party 
will,  we  may  hope,  force  him  to  it.  Between  these 
issues,  I  think  no  man  of  the  Liberal  party  can 
remain  in  doubt ;  and  I  believe  I  am  consistent 


1804.]  THE    CANVASS.  475 

with  my  antecedents  and  my  principles  in  with 
drawing —  not  to  aid  in  the  triumph  of  Mr.  Lin 
coln,  but  to  do  my  part  toward  preventing  the 
election  of  the  Democratic  candidate." 

The  canvass  was  exceedingly  bitter,  especially  in 
the  abuse  heaped  upon  Mr.  Lincoln.  The  undig 
nified  and  disgraceful  epithets  that  were  applied 
to  him  by  journals  of  high  standing  were  not  such 
as  would  make  any  American  proud  of  his  coun 
try.  This  course  had  its  culmination  in  the  pub 
lication  of  certain  ghastly  pictures  of  returned 
prisoners,  to  show  what  Lincoln  —  the  usurper, 
despot,  and  tyrant,  as  they  freely  called  him  —  was 
doing  by  not  disregarding  "  nigger  soldiers  "  and 
continuing  the  exchange  of  whites.  They  con 
stantly  repeated  the  assertion  with  which  they  had 
greeted  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  that  the 
war  had  been  wickedly  changed  from  one  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union  into  one  for  the  aboli 
tion  of  slavery.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Republi 
can  press  freely  accused  the  Democratic  party  of 
desiring  the  success  of  secession  —  which  was  not 
true.  Aside  from  all  patriotic  considerations,  that 
party  had  the  strongest  reasons  for  wishing  to  per 
petuate  the  Union,  because  without  the  Southern 
vote  it  was  in  a  minority.  There  were  many 
members  of  that  party,  however,  who,  while  they 
by  no  means  desired  the  destruction  of  the  Union, 
believed  it  was  inevitable,  and  thought  the  sooner 
the  necessity  was  acknowledged  the  better. 

One  of  the  most  effective  arguments  of  the  can 
vass  was  furnished  in  a  condensed  form  bv  one  of 


476  POPULAR    SONGS.  [1864. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  famous  little  stories,  and  in  that 
form  was  repeated  thousands  of  times.  Answer 
ing  the  address  of  a  delegation  of  the  Union 
League,  a  day  or  two  after  his  nomination,  he 
said  :  "  I  have  not  permitted  myself  to  conclude 
that  I  am  the  best  man  in  the  country ;  but  I  am 
reminded  in  this  connection  of  the  story  of  an  old 
Dutch  farmer,  who  once  remarked  to  a  compan 
ion  that  '  it  was  not  best  to  swap  horses  when 
crossing  streams.''  There  was  singing-  in  the 

o  o       o 

canvass,  too,  and  some  of  the  songs  rendered  by 
glee-clubs  every  evening  before  large  political 
meetings  were  very  effective.  One  of  the  most 
notable  had  been  written  in  response  to  the  Presi 
dent's  call  for  tjiree  hundred  thousand  volunteers, 
and  bore  the  refrain, 

"We    are  coming,  Father   Abraham,   three  hundred  thousand 
more ! " 

Much  of  the  popular  parlor  music  of  the  time  con 
sisted  of  songs  relating  to  the  great  struggle, 
prominent  among  which  were  "  Tenting  on  the 
old  camp-ground,"  and  "  When  this  cruel  war  is 
over."  At  the  South,  as  at  the  North,  there  had 
been  an  outburst  of  lyric  enthusiasm  at  the  be 
ginning  of  the  war,  which  found  expression  in 
"  My  Maryland,"  the  "  Bonnie  Blue  Flag,"  and 
"Dixie";  but  the  spirit  that  inspires  such  poems 
seems  to  have  died  out  there  after  the  war  had 
been  in  progress  two  or  three  years,  when  its  ter 
rible  privations  were  increasing  every  day. 

The  Confederates  were  now  looking  eagerly  for 


1864.]  THE    HOPE    OF    THE    CONFEDERATES.  477 

the  result  of  the  Presidential  election  as  a  possible 
solution  of  the  great  question  in  their  favor.  John 
B.  Jones,  who  was  a  clerk  in  the  Confederate  War 
Department,  recorded  in  his  published  diary  that 
Mr.  Vallandigham,  when  banished  to  the  South, 
had  assured  the  officers  of  the  Government  at 
Richmond  that  "  if  we  [the  Confederates]  can  only 
hold  out  this  year,  the  peace  party  of  the  North 
would  sweep  the  Lincoln  dynasty  out  of  political 
existence."  This  was  now  their  strongest  hope, 
and  it  was  common  talk  across  the  lines,  between 
the  pickets,  that  in  the  event  of  McClellan's  elec 
tion  the  Confederates  expected  a  speedy  cessation 
of  hostilities  and  ultimately  their  independence. 
And  such  is  the  unaccountable  elasticity  of  the 
human  mind  in  dealing  with  facts  and  principles, 
that  a  large  number  of  the  bravest  and  most 
devoted  soldiers  in  the  National  service,  knowing 
this,  were  preparing  to  cast  their  ballots  in  a  way 
to  give  the  utmost  assistance  and  encouragement 
to  the  very  enemy  into  the  muzzles  of  whose  guns 
they  were  looking. 

Whether  General  Fremont's  arraignment  of  the 
Administration  as  "  politically,  militarily,  and 
financially  a  failure  "  was  just  or  unjust,  whether 
it  was  true  or  not  that  the  triumph  of  General 
McClellan  and  his  party  would  result  in  a  final  dis 
ruption  of  the  country,  before  the  canvass  was 
over  the  land  had  settled  down  to  the  belief  that 
the  only  way  to  secure  the  continuance  of  the  war 
to  a  successful  termination  was  to  reelect  Mr.  Lin 
coln,  while  a  vote  for  General  McClellan  meant 


478  THE    REALITIES    OF    WAR.  [1864. 

something  else  —  nobody  knew  exactly  what. 
The  solemnity  of  the  occasion  appeared  to  be 
universally  appreciated,  and  though  a  heavy  vote 
was  polled  the  election  was  the  quietest  that  had 
ever  been  held.  The  citizens  were  dealing  with 
a  question  that,  in  most  of  its  aspects  at  least, 
they  by  this  time  thoroughly  understood.  When 
they  sprang  to  arms  in  1861,  they  did  not  know 
what  war  was  ;  but  now  they  had  had  three  years 
of  constant  schooling  to  its  burdens  and  its  hor 
rors.  They  had  seen  regiment  after  regiment 
march  away  to  the  music  of  drum  and  fife,  with  a 
thousand  men  in  the  ranks,  and  come  back  at  the 
end  of  two  years'  service  with  perhaps  two  hun 
dred  bronzed  veterans  to  be  mustered  out.  They 
had  read  in  their  newspapers,  after  every  great 
battle,  the  long  lists  of  killed  and  wounded,  which 
the  telegraph  was  quick  to  report.  Every  city  had 
its  fair  for  the  relief  of  the  widows  and  orphans, 
every  hamlet  its  two  or  three  crippled  soldiers 
hobbling  about  in  their  faded  blue  overcoats, 
almost  every  house  its  incurable  sorrow.  They 
had  seen  the  wheel  turning  in  the  provost-marshal's 
office,  in  places  where  volunteering  was  not  suffi 
ciently  rapid,  and  knew  that  their  own  names 
might  be  the  next  to  be  drawn  for  service  at  the 
front.  They  knew  how  many  graves  there  were 
at  Gettysburg,  how  many  at  Shiloh,  how  many  at 
Stone  River  ;  they  knew  what  was  to  be  seen  in 
the  hospitals  of  every  Northern  city,  and  something 
of  the  unspeakable  horrors  of  captivity.  They 
saw  the  price  of  gold  go  beyond  two  hundred, 


18M.]  THE    ELECTION.  479 

while  the  Government  was  spending  between  two 
and  three  millions  of  dollars  a  day,  piling  up  a 
national  debt  in  undreamed-of  proportions,  for 
which  they  were  already  heavily  taxed,  and  which 
must  some  day  be  paid  in  solid  coin. 

Seeing  and  understanding  all  this,  and  having  the 
privilege  of  a  secret  and  unquestioned  ballot,  they 
quietly  walked  up  to  the  polls  and  voted  for  a 
vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war,  reelecting  Mr. 
Lincoln  by  a  popular  majority  of  more  than  four 
hundred  thousand,  and  giving  him  the  votes  of 
all  the  States  excepting  Delaware,  New  Jersey, 
and  Kentucky  —  two  hundred  and  twelve  against 
twenty-one.  The  vote  of  the  soldiers  in  the  field, 
so  far  as  it  could  be  counted  separately  (for  in  some 
States  it  was  sent  home  sealed,  and  mingled  with 
the  other  ballots  in  the  boxes),  showed  about 
one  hundred  and  nineteen  thousand  for  Lincoln, 
and  about  thirty-four  thousand  for  McClellan. 
The  soldiers  confined  in  some  of  the  Confederate 
prisons  held  an  election  at  the  suggestion  of  their 
keepers,  who  were  exceedingly  curious  to  see  how 
the  prisoners  would  vote.  Sergeant  Robert  H. 
Kellogg  tells  us  that  in  the  stockade  at  Florence, 
S.  C.,  where  he  was  confined,  two  empty  bags 
were  hung  up,  and  the  prisoners  were  furnished 
with  black  and  white  beans  and  marched  past  in 
single  file,  each  depositing  a  black  bean  for  Lin 
coln,  or  a  white  one  for  McClellan.  The  result 
was  in  the  proportion  of  two  and  a  half  for  Lincoln 
to  one  for  McClellan.  In  the  prison  at  Millen, 
Ga.,  Sergeant  W.  Goodyear  tells  us,  the  vote  was 


480  THE    HEROISM    OF   IT.  U864. 

three  thousand  and  fourteen  for  Lincoln,  and  one 
thousand  and  fifty  for  McClellan.  In  Congress 
the  number  of  Republican  members  was  increased 
from  one  hundred  and  six  to  one  hundred  and 
forty-three,  and  the  number  of  Democratic  mem 
bers  reduced  from  seventy-seven  to  forty-one. 

Meanwhile,  in  October,  Maryland  had  adopted 
anew  constitution,  in  which  slavery  was  prohibited. 
In  answer  to  serenades  after  the  election,  Mr.  Lin 
coln  made  some  of  his  best  impromptu  speeches, 
saying  in  one  :  "  While  I  am  duly  sensible  to  the 
high  compliment  of  a  reelection,  and  duly  grateful, 
as  I  trust,  to  Almighty  God  for  having  directed  my 
countrymen  to  a  right  conclusion,  as  I  think,  for 
their  good,  it  adds  nothing  to  my  satisfaction  that 
any  other  man  may  be  disappointed  by  the  result. 
May  I  ask  those  who  have  not  differed  with  me  to 
join  with  me  in  this  same  spirit  toward  those  who 
have  ?  " 

If  there  is  any  one  act  of  the  American  people 
that  above  all  others,  in  the  sober  pages  of  history, 
reflects  credit  upon  them  for  correct  judgment, 
determined  purpose,  courage  in  present  difficulties, 
and  care  for  future  interests,  that  act,  it  seems  to 
me,  was  the  reelection  of  President  Lincoln. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

* 

THE   NATIONAL    FINANCES. 

WHEN  President  Lincoln  came  into  office  he  found 
the  treasury  empty,  and  the  public  debt  somewhat 
over  seventy-six  million  dollars.  In  the  last  days 
of  President  Buchanan's  administration  the  Gov 
ernment  had  been  borrowing  money  at  twelve  per 
cent,  per  annum.  In  December,  1860,  Congress 
passed  a  bill  for  the  issue  of  ten  million  dollars  in 
one-year  treasury  notes.  Half  of  this  amount  was 
advertised,  and  offers  were  received  for  a  small  por 
tion,  at  rates  of  discount  varying  from  twelve  to 
thirty-six  per  cent.  The  twelve  per  cent,  offers 
were  accepted,  and  subsequently  a  syndicate  of 
bankers  took  the  remainder  of  the  five  millions  at 
that  figure.  The  other  five  millions  were  taken  a 
month  later  at  eleven  per  cent,  discount.  In  Feb 
ruary,  1 86 1,  Congress  authorized  a  loan  of  twenty- 
five  millions,  to  bear  interest  at  six  per  cent,  and  to 
be  paid  in  not  less  than  ten  nor  more  than  twenty 
years.  The  Secretary  succeeded  in  negotiating 
one  third  of  the  amount  at  rates  from  90  to  96. 

In  Mr.  Lincoln's  Cabinet,  Salmon  P.  Chase  (for 
merly  Governor  of  Ohio,  and  then  United  States 
Senator)  was  made  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Under  the  existing  acts  he  borrowed  eight  millions 
in  March  at  94  and  upward  —  rejecting  all  offers 


482  INCREASE   OF   TAXES.  |18M. 

under  94  —  and  early  in  April  issued  at  par  near 
ly  five  millions  in  two-year  treasury  notes,  receiv 
able  for  public  dues,  and  also  convertible  into  six- 
per-cent.  stocks.  On  the  I2th  of  that  month  the 
war  was  begun  by  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter^  In 
May  seven  millions  more  of  the  six-per-cent.  loan 
were  issued  at  rates  from  85  to  93,  and  two  and  a 
half  millions  in  treasury  notes  at  par.  These  trans 
actions  were  looked  upon  as  remarkably  successful, 
for  many  considered  it  questionable  whether  the 
Government  would  survive  the  blow  that  was  aimed 
at  its  life,  and  be  able  to  redeem  any  of  its  securi 
ties.  The  existing  tariff,  which  was  low,  produced 
an  annual  income  of  not  more  than  thirty  millions. 
Congress  met,  at  the  call  of  the  President,  on 
the  4th  of  July,  1861,  and  on  the  I7th  passed  a  bill 
(with  but  five  dissenting  votes  in  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives)  for  the  issue  of  bonds  and  treasury 
notes  to  the  amount  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  mill 
ions.  It  also  increased  the  duties  on  many  articles, 
passed  an  act  for  the  confiscation  of  the  property 
of  rebels,  and  levied  a  direct  tax  of  twenty  millions, 
apportioned  among  the  States  and  Territories. 
The  States  that  were  in  rebellion  of  course  did 
not  pay.  All  the  others  paid  except  Delaware, 
Colorado,  Utah,  Oregon,  and  the  District  of  Co 
lumbia.  The  law  provided  for  collection  by  United 
States  officers  in  such  States  as  should  not  formally 
assume  and  pay  the  tax  themselves.  In  some  of 
the  seceding  States  lands  worth  about  seven  hun 
dred  thousand  dollars  were  seized  and  sold  for 
non-payment. 


1861.]  THE    SEVEN-THIRTIES.  483 

In  August  the  first  demand  notes  were  issued  as 
currency,  being  paid  to  clerks  in  the  departments 
for  their  salaries.  Though  these  were  convertible 
into  gold,  there  was  at  first  great  reluctance  to  re 
ceive  them,  but  after  a  little  time  they  became 
popular,  and  in  five  months  about  thirty-three  mill 
ions  were  issued. 

In  August  also  Mr.  Chase  held  a  conference 
with  the  principal  bankers  of  New  York,  Boston, 
and  Philadelphia,  to  negotiate  a  national  loan  on 
the  basis  of  the  recent  acts  of  Congress.  Most  of 
them  expressed  their  desire  to  sustain  the  Govern 
ment,  but  they  made  some  objections  to  the  terms 
and  rates  of  interest.  When  it  looked  as  if  the 
negotiation  might  fail,  the  Secretary  assured  the 
bankers  that  if  they  were  not  able  to  take  the  loan 
on  his  terms,  he  would  return  to  Washington  and 
issue  notes  for  circulation,  "  for  it  is  certain  that 
the  war  must  go  on  until  the  rebellion  is  put  down, 
if  we  have  to  put  out  paper  until  it  takes  a  thou 
sand  dollars  to  buy  a  breakfast."  The  banks  agreed 
to  form  a  syndicate  to  lend  the  Government  fifty 
million  dollars  in  coin,  to  pay  which  the  Secretary 
was  to  issue  three-year  notes  bearing  seven  and 
three-tenths  per  cent,  interest,  convertible  into  six- 
per-cent.  twenty-year  bonds.  These  were  popularly 
known  as  "  seven-thirties."  The  peculiar  rate  of 
interest  was  made  both  as  a  special  inducement 
and  for  ease  of  calculation,  the  interest  being  two 
cents  a  day  on  each  hundred  dollars.  They  were 
issued  in  denominations  as  low  as  fifty  dollars,  so 
that  people  of  limited  means  could  take  them,  and 


484  SUSPENSION    OF    SPECIE  PAYMENTS.  [1861. 

were  very  popular.  The  coupon  and  registered 
bonds  that  were  to  run  not  less  than  five  years  nor 
more  than  twenty  were  popularly  known  as  ''five- 
twenties."  Subscription-books  were  opened  in 
every  city,  and  the  people  responded  so  promptly 
that  the  Government  was  soon  enabled  to  repay 
the  banks  and  make  another  loan  on  similar  terms. 
But  a  third  loan  was  refused,  and  Secretary  Chase 
then  issued  fifty  millions  in  "  five-twenties,"  bearing 
interest  at  six  per  cent.,  but  sold  at  such  a  discount 
as  to  make  a  seven-per-cent.  investment.  Of  all 
the  agents  employed  to  dispose  of  these  bonds,  Jay 
Cooke,  of  Philadelphia,  was  the  most  successful. 
They  were  paid  one  fifth  of  one  per  cent,  for  the 
first  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  one  eighth  of 
one  per  cent,  for  all  in  excess  of  that  sum. 

The  amount  of  coin  in  circulation  in  the  United 
States  at  this  time  was  estimated  at  about  two 
hundred  and  ten  million  dollars.  Before  the  war 
had  been  in  progress  one  year,  the  operations  of 
the  Government  had  become  so  vast  that  this  did 
not  furnish  a  sufficient  volume  of  currency  for  the 
transactions.  On  December  30,  1861,  the  banks 
suspended  specie  payments,  and  the  Government 
was  then  obliged  to  do  likewise.  There  were  now 
over  half  a  million  men  in  the  field,  and  the  navy 
had  been  increased  from  forty-two  vessels  to  two 
hundred  and  sixty-four..  The  pay  of  a  private  sol 
dier  was  thirteen  dollars  a  month,  with  food  and 
clothing.  The  total  cost  to  the  Government  for 
each  soldier  maintained  in  the  field  was  about  a 
thousand  dollars  a  year  —  two  and  a  half  times 


1362.1  LEGAL-TENDER    NOTES.  485 

the  cost  of  a  British  soldier,  and  twelve  times  the 
cost  of  a  French  soldier. 

Early  in  1862  even  the  smallest  coins  disap 
peared  from  circulation,  and  some  kinds  of  busi 
ness  were  almost  paralyzed  for  want  of  change. 
Tokens  and  fractional  notes  were  issued  by  pri 
vate  firms,  and  various  expedients  were  resorted 
to,  a  favorite  one  being  the  enclosure  of  specified 
amounts  of  postage-stamps  in  small  envelopes 
properly  labeled.  Thaddeus  Stevens,  member  of 
Congress  from  Pennsylvania,  proposed  that  the 
Government  should  issue  notes  for  circulation,  to 
any  amount  that  might  be  required,  and  make 
them  legal  tender  for  all  debts,  public  and  private. 
Secretary  Chase  opposed  this,  and  proposed  in 
stead  a  national  banking  system,  which  should 
embrace  an  issue  of  notes  bearing  a  common  im 
pression  and  a  common  authority,  the  redemp 
tion  of  these  notes  by  the  institutions  to  which  the 
Government  should  deliver  them  for  issue,  and  a 
pledge  of  United  States  stocks  as  security  for  such 
redemption.  This  scheme  was  opposed  by  the 
State  banks,  and  Mr.  Chase  gave  a  reluctant  con 
sent  to  the  legal-tender  measure,  which  was  then 
carried  through  Congress,  and  the  "  greenbacks  " 
became  payable  for  everything  except  duties  on 
imports.  Subsequently,  Mr.  Chase's  plan  for  a 
national  banking  system  was  also  adopted,  sub 
stantially  as  we  have  it  now.  In  the  loyal  States 
the  greenbacks  were  popular  from  the  first,  and 
the  large  amount  in  circulation  led  to  general  ex 
travagance  in  expenditures.  In  the  insurrection- 


486  FRACTIONAL   CURRENCY.  [1862-5. 

ary  States  they  were  at  first  refused  with  scorn. 
But  when  the  secessionists  found  that  these  notes 
had  a  purchasing-power  vastly  superior  to  those 
of  their  own  Government,  they  soon  became 
reconciled  to  them.  When  soldiers  of  the 
National  army  were  made  prisoners  of  war,  they 
were  almost  immediately  requested  by  their  cap 
tors  to  exchange  any  greenbacks  they  might  have 
for  Confederate  money,  and  some  show  of  fair 
ness  was  made  by  the  allowance  of  a  heavy  dis 
count,  seldom  less  than  seven  for  one.  The  Con 
federate  currency  was  redeemable  "  six  months 
after  the  ratification  of  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the 
United  States."  The  Government  supplemented 
the  greenbacks  with  fractional  paper  currency  in 
denominations  of  fifty,  twenty-five,  ten,  and  five 
cents  ;  and  in  this  money  the  war  bills  were  paid 
and  all  business  transacted,  except  at  the  custom 
houses. 

The  daily  quotations  of  gold  were  looked  to  as 
an  indication  of  the  prospects  of  the  war.  Gold 
itself  did  not  materially  change  in  value,  but  the 
premium  on  it  represented  the  depreciation  of  the 
greenbacks  with  which  it  was  purchased.  At  the 
beginning  of  1862  there  was  a  premium  of  about 
two  per  cent,  on  gold.  This-fluctuated  from  day 
to  day,  but  the  general  tendency  was  upward  till 
at  the  end  of  that  year  the  premium  was  33.  By 
the  end  of  1863  gold  had  risen  to  151  ;  and  on 
June  21,  1864,  just  after  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
crossed  the  James,  it  touched  200.  In  other 
words,  the  United  States  paper  dollar  was  then 


1860-8.]  THE    TOTAL    COST    OF    THE    WAR.  487 

worth  half  a  dollar.  On  the  nth  of  July,  1864, 
gold  reached  its  highest  point,  285.  Confederate 
paper  money  had  been  at  par  until  November, 
1861  ;  but  from  that  time  its  value  diminished 
steadily  and  rapidly  until  at  the  close  of  1864  five 
hundred  paper  dollars  were  worth  but  one  dollar 
in  gold,  and  three  months  later  six  hundred. 

Most  of  the  funded  debt  of  the  United  States 
was  represented  by  five-twenty  bonds.  An  act 
was  passed  authorizing  the  issue  of  ten-forties,  but 
they  were  not  popular  and  comparatively  few  were 
taken.  The  total  assessed  value  of  all  the  property 
in  the  United  States,  real  and  personal,  by  the 
census  of  1860,  was  somewhat  over  sixteen  thou 
sand  million  dollars.  The  cost  of  the  war  to  the 
Government  has  been  nearly  if  not  quite  half  that 
amount  —  or  about  equal  to  the  value  in  1860  of 
all  the  real  estate  in  the  loyal  States.  The  amount 
of  the  Confederate  debt  is  unknown.  If  that  and 
the  incidental  losses  could  be  ascertained,  the  cost 
of  the  war  would  probably  make  a  grand  total 
almost  equivalent  to  a  wiping  out  of  all  values  in 
the  country  as  they  were  estimated  in  the  year  of 
its  beginning.  The  fourteenth  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  —  proposed  in  1866,  and  declared  in 
force  in  1868  —  provides  on  the  one  hand  that  the 
validity  of  the  public  debt  shall  not  be  questioned, 
and  on  the  other  that  neither  the  United  States 
nor  any  State  shall  ever  pay  any  debt  or  obligation 
that  has  been  incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection  against 
the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE     MARCH     TO    THE    SEA. 

BEFORE  Sherman's  army  had  been  a  week  in 
Atlanta,  he  determined  to  send  away  all  the  in 
habitants  of  the  city,  giving  each  the  choice 
whether  to  go  south  or  north,  and  furnishing  trans 
portation  for  a  certain  distance.  His  reason  for 
this  measure  is  given  briefly  in  his  own  words  : 
"  I  was  resolved  to  make  Atlanta  a  pure  military 
garrison  or  depot,  with  no  civil  population  to  influ 
ence  military  measures.  I  had  seen  Memphis, 
Vicksburg,  Natchez,  and  New  Orleans,  all  captured 
from  the  enemy,  and  each  at  once  was  garrisoned 
by  a  full  division  of  troops,  if  not  more  ;  so  that 
success  was  actually  crippling  our  armies  in  the 
field  by  detachments  to  guard  and  protect  the  in 
terests  of  a  hostile  population."  Of  course  this 
action  met  with  a  vigorous  protest  from  the  people 
themselves,  from  the  city  authorities,  and  from 
General  Hood,  between  whom  and  General  Sher 
man  there  was  a  sharp  correspondence  discussing 
the  humanity  of  the  measure  and  to  some  extent 
the  issues  of  the  war. 

Among  the  considerations  that  influenced  Gen 
eral  Sherman's  action  at  that  time,  two  appear  to 
have  been  paramount  —  one  a  hope,  the  other  a 
fear.  The  fear  was  that  some  portion  of  Hood's 


1884.]  DISAFFECTION    IN    THE    CONFEDERACY.  489 

army  would  make  a  serious  break  in  his  communi 
cations  by  destroying  portions  of  the  long,  single- 
track  railroad  over  which  he  drew  all  his  supplies 
from  Chattanooga.  The  hope  was,  that  Georgia, 
seeing  any  further  prosecution  of  the  war  to  be 
useless,  would  withdraw  her  troops  from  the  Con 
federate  armies  and  practically  secede  from  the 
Confederacy.  Some  color  was  given  to  this  from 
the  fact  that  Governor  Joseph  E.  Brown  had  re 
called  the  Georgia  militia  from  Hood's  army, 
while  Mr.  Davis,  on  a  flying  visit  to  that  army, 
had  made  a  speech  in  which  he  threw  the  blame 
for  the  recent  disasters  upon  General  Johnston  and 
Governor  Brown,  and  told  the  soldiers  they  were 
about  to  set  out  on  a  campaign  that  would  carry 
them  to  Tennessee  and  Kentucky.  Sherman  sent 
word  to  Governor  Brown  that  if  Georgia's  troops 
were  withdrawn  from  the  Confederate  service,  he 
would  pass  across  the  State  as  harmlessly  as  pos 
sible,  and  pay  for  all  the  corn  and  fodder  that  he 
took  ;  but  if  not,  he  would  devastate  the  State 
through  its  whole  length  and  breadth. 

In  North  Carolina  there  had  been  a  strong 
movement  for  peace  this  year,  the  only  difference 
of  opinion  being  as  to  the  method  in  which  peace 
should  be  sought.  The  governor,  Zebulon  B. 
Vance,  as  a  candidate  for  reelection,  represented 
those  who  held  that  the  State  should  only  act  in 
cooperation  with  the  other  States  that  were  en 
gaged  with  her  in  the  war.  The  other  party, 
whose  candidate  was  William  W.  Holden,  held 
that  North  Carolina  should  assert  her  sovereignty 


4QO  HOOD    MOVES    NORTHWARD.  [1864. 

and  negotiate  peace  directly  and  alone  with  the 
United  States.  Governor  Vance  probably  pre 
sented  the  decisive  argument  when  he  said  :  "  Se 
cession  from  the  Confederacy  will  involve  us  in  a 
new  war,  a  bloodier  conflict  than  that  which  we 
now  deplore.  So  soon  as  you  announce  to  the 
world  that  you  are  a  sovereign  and  independent 
nation,  as  a  matter  of  course  the  Confederate 
Government  has  a  right  to  declare  war  against  you, 
and  President  Davis  will  make  the  whole  State  a 
field  of  battle  and  blood.  Old  Abe  would  send  his 
troops  here  also,  because  we  would  no  longer  be 
neutral,  and  so,  if  you  will  pardon  the  expression, 
we  would  catch  the  devil  on  all  sides."  At  the 
election  in  August,  Governor  Vance  received  fifty- 
four  thousand  votes,  against  twenty  thousand 
for  Mr.  Holden. 

Georgia  did  not  secede  from  the  Confederacy, 
but  Hood  did  attack  the  communications.  At 
every  important  point  on  the  railroad  there  was  a 
strong  guard,  and  at  the  bridges  there  were  block 
houses  with  small  but  well-appointed  garrisons. 
About  the  ist  of  October  Hood  crossed  the  Chat- 
tahooche,  going  northward  to  strike  the  railroad. 
Sherman  hurried  after  him,  and  on  the  5th  looked 
down  from  Kenesaw  Mountain  upon  the  fires  that 
were  burning  the  ties  and  heating  the  rails  of  a 
dozen  miles  of  his  road.  Anticipating  an  attack 
on  Allatoona,  which  was  held  by  a  small  brigade 
under  command  of  Lieut.  Col.  John  E.  Tourtellotte, 
he  signaled  over  the  heads  of  the  enemy  a  mes 
sage  to  Allatoona  conveying  an  order  for  General 


1864.]  DEFENCE    OF    ALLATOONA.  49! 

John  M.  Corse,  then  at  Rome,  to  go  to  the  relief 
of  Tourtellotte  with  a  strong  force.  Corse  obeyed 
promptly,  going  down  with  all  the  men  he  could 
obtain  transportation  for,  and  arriving  at  mid 
night.  In  the  morning  the  garrison,  now  nearly 
two  thousand  strong,  was  summoned  to  surrender 
immediately,  to  avoid  a  needless  effusion  of  blood. 
General  Corse  answered,  "We  are  prepared  for 
the  needless  effusion  of  blood  whenever  it  is 
agreeable  to  you,"  and  at  once  his  men  were  at 
tacked  from  all  sides.  They  were  driven  into 
their  redoubts,  and  there  made  so  determined  a 
resistance  that  after  five  hours  of  desperate  fighting 
the  Confederates  withdrew,  leaving  their  dead  and 
wounded  on  the  field.  Corse  had  lost  seven  hun 
dred  and  seven  men  out  of  his  nineteen  hundred 
and  forty-four,  including  Colonel  Redfield,  of  the 
39th  Iowa,  killed,  and  had  himself  suffered  the  loss 
of  an  ear  and  a  cheek-bone.  The  total  Confeder 
ate  loss  is  unknown  ;  but  Corse  reported  burying 
two  hundred  and  thirty-one  of  their  dead  and  tak 
ing  four  hundred  and  eleven  prisoners,  which 
would  indicate  a  total  loss  of  sixteen  hundred. 
This  successful  defence  of  Allatoona  was  one  of  the 
most  gallant  affairs  of  the  kind  in  history. 

General  Thomas  had  previously  been  sent  to 
Nashville  with  two  divisions,  General  Slocum  was 
left  in  Atlanta  with  the  Twentieth  Corps,  and 
with  the  remainder  of  his  forces  Sherman  pursued 
Hood  through  the  country  between  Rome  and 
Chattanooga  and  westward  of  that  region.  But 
he  could  not  bring  the  Confederates  to  battle,  and 


492  THOMAS   ORGANIZES    AN    ARMY.  [1864. 

had  little  expectation  of  overtaking  them.  He 
thinks  he  conceived  of  the  march  to  the  sea  some 
time  in  September  ;  the  first  definite  proposal  of 
it  was  in  a  telegram  to  General  Thomas,  on  the 
9th  of  October,  in  which  he  said  :  "  I  want  to 
destroy  all  the  road  below  Chattanooga,  including 
Atlanta,  and  to  make  for  the  sea-coast.  We  can 
not  defend  this  long  line  of  road."  In  various 
despatches  between  that  date  and  the  2d  of  No 
vember,  Sherman  proposed  the  great  march  to 
Grant  and  to  the  President.  Grant  thought 
Hood's  army  should  be  destroyed  first,  but  finally 
said  :  "  I  do  not  see  that  you  can  withdraw  from 
where  you  are,  to  follow  Hood,  without  giving  up 
all  we  have  gained  in  territory.  I  say,  then,  go 
on  as  you  propose."  This  was  on  the  understand 
ing,  suggested  by  Sherman,  that  Thomas  would 
be  left  with  force  enough  to  take  care  of  Hood. 

o 

Sherman  sent  him  the  Fourth  and  Twenty-third 
corps,  commanded  by  Generals  Stanley  and  Scho- 
field,  and  further  reenforced  him  with  troops  that 
had  been  garrisoning  various  places  on  the  rail 
road,  while  he  also  received  two  divisions  from 
Missouri  and  some  recruits  from  the  North. 
These,  when  properly  organized,  made  up  a  very 
strong  force ;  and,  with  Thomas  at  its  head, 
neither  Sherman  nor  Grant  felt  any  hesitation 
about  leaving  it  to  take  care  of  Tennessee. 

Sherman  rapidly  sent  north  all  his  sick  and  dis 
abled  men,  and  allbaggage  that  could  be  spared. 
Commissioners  came  and  took  the  votes  of  the 
soldiers  for  the  Presidential  election,  and  de- 


1864.]  DESTRUCTION    IN    ATLANTA.  493 

parted.  Paymasters  came  and  paid  off  the  troops, 
and  went  back  again.  Wagon  trains  were  put  in 
trim  and  loaded  for  a  march.  Every  detachment 
of  the  army  had  its  exact  orders  what  to  do  ;  and 
as  the  last  trains  whirled  over  the  road  to  Chat 
tanooga,  the  track  was  taken  up  and  destroyed, 
the  bridges  burned,  the  wires  torn  down,  and  all 
the  troops  that  had  not  been  ordered  to  join 
Thomas  concentrated  in  Atlanta.  From  the  i2th 
of  November  nothing  more  was  heard  from  Sher 
man  till  Christmas. 

The  depot,  machine-shops,  and  locomotive-house 
in  Atlanta  were  all  torn  down,  and  fire  was  set 
to  the  ruins.  The  shops  had  been  used  for  the 
manufacture  of  Confederate  ammunition,  and  all 
night  the  shells  were  exploding  in  the  midst  of 
the  ruin,  while  the  fire  spread  to  a  block  of  stores, 
and  finally  burned  out  the  heart  of  the  city. 
With  every  unsound  man  and  every  useless 
article  sent  to  the  rear,  General  Sherman  now  had 
fifty-five  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  infantrymen,  five  thousand  and  sixty-three 
cavalrymen,  and  eighteen  hundred  and  twelve 
artillerymen,  with  sixty-five  guns.  There  were 
four  teams  of  horses  to  each  gun,  with  its  caisson 
and  forge  ;  six  hundred  ambulances,  each  drawn 
by  two  horses  ;  and  twenty-five  hundred  wagons, 
with  six  mules  to  each.  Every  soldier  carried 
forty  rounds  of  ammunition,  while  the  wagons 
contained  an  abundant  additional  supply  and 
twelve  hundred  thousand  rations,  with  oats  and 
corn  enough  to  last  five  days.  Probably  a  more 


4.94  THE    MARCH    BEGUN.  [1864. 

thoroughly  appointed  army  was  never  soen,  and 
it  is  difficult  to  imagine  one  of  equal  numbers 
more  effective.  Every  man  in  it  was  a  veteran, 
was  proud  to  be  there,  and  felt  the  most  perfect 
confidence  that  under  the  leadership  of  "  Uncle 
Billy  "  it  would  be  impossible  to  go  wrong. 

On  the  1 5th  of  November  they  set  out  on  the 
march  to  the  sea,  nearly  three  hundred  miles  dis 
tant.  The  infantry  consisted  of  four  corps.  The 
Fifteenth  and  Seventeenth  formed  the  right  wing, 
commanded  by  General  Oliver  O.  Howard  ;  the 
Fourteenth  and  Twentieth  the  left,  commanded 
by  General  Henry  W.  Slocum.  The  cavalry  was 
under  the  command  of  General  Judson  Kilpatrick. 
The  two  wings  marched  by  parallel  routes,  gen 
erally  a  few  miles  apart,  each  corps  having  its  own 
proportion  of  the  artillery  and  trains.  General 
Sherman  issued  minute  orders  as  to  the  conduct 
of  the  march,  which  were  systematically  carried 
out.  Some  of  the  instructions  were  these  : 

"  The  habitual  order  of  march  will  be,  wher 
ever  practicable,  by  four  roads,  as  nearly  parallel 
as  possible.  The  separate  columns  will  start 
habitually  at  7  A.M.,  and  make  about  fifteen  miles 
a  day.  Behind  each  regiment  should  follow  one 
wagon  and  one  ambulance.  Army  commanders 
should  practice  the  habit  of  giving  the  artillery 
and  wagons  the  road,  marching  the  troops  on  one 
side.  The  army  will  forage  liberally  on  the 
country  during  the  march.  To  this  end  each  brig 
ade  commander  will  organize  a  good  and  sufficient 
foraging  party,  who  will  gather  corn  or  forage  of 


1864.]  SHERMAN  S    INSTRUCTIONS.  495 

any  kind,  meat  of  any  kind,  vegetables,  corn  meal, 
or  whatever  is  needed  by  the  command,  aiming  at 
all  times  to  keep  in  the  wagons  at  least  ten  days' 
provisions.  Soldiers  must  not  enter  dwellings  or 
commit  any  trespass;  but,  during  a  halt  or  camp, 
they  may  be  permitted  to  gather  turnips,  potatoes, 
and  other  vegetables,  and  to  drive  in  stock  in 
sight  of  their  camp.  To  corps  commanders  alone 
is  entrusted  the  power  to  destroy  mills,  houses, 
cotton-gins,  etc.  Where  the  army  is  unmolested, 
no  destruction  of  such  property  should  be  permit 
ted  ;  but  should  guerillas  or  bushwhackers  molest 
our  march,  or  should  the  inhabitants  burn  bridges, 
obstruct  roads,  or  otherwise  manifest  local  hostility, 
then  army  commanders  should  order  and  enforce 
a  devastation  more  or  less  relentless,  according  to 
the  measure  of  such  hostility.  As  for  horses, 
mules,  wagons,  etc.,  belonging  to  the  inhabitants, 
the  cavalry  and  artillery  may  appropriate  freely 
and  without  limit  ;  discriminating,  however,  be 
tween  the  rich,  who  are  usually  hostile,  and  the 
poor  and  industrious,  usually  neutral  or  friendly. 
In  all  foraging,  the  parties  engaged  will  endeavor 
to  leave  with  each  family  a  reasonable  portion  for 
their  maintenance." 

Thus  equipped  and  thus  instructed,  the  great 
army  moved  steadily,  day  after  day,  cutting  a 
mighty  swath,  from  forty  to  sixty  miles  wide, 
through  the  very  heart  of  the  Confederacy.  The 
columns  passed  through  Rough  and  Ready,  Jones- 
boro,  Covington,  McDonough,  Macon,  Milledge- 
ville,  Gibson,  Louisville,  Millen,  Springfield,  and 


496 


THE    ROUTE. 


[1864. 


many  smaller  places. 
The  wealthier  inhabi 
tants  fled  at  the  ap 
proach  of  the  troops. 
The  negroes  in  great 
numbers  swarmed  after 
the  army,  believing  the 
long-promised  day  of 
jubilee  had  come.  Some 
of  them  seemed  to  have 
an  intelligent  idea  that 
the  success  of  the  Na 
tional  forces  meant  des 
truction  of  slavery,  while 
most  of  them  had  but  the 
vaguest  notions  as  to 
the  whole  movement. 
One  woman,  with  a  child 
in  »her  arms,  walking 
along  among  the  cattle 
and  horses,  was  accosted 
by  an  officer,  who  asked 
her,  "  Where  are  you 
going,  aunty?"  "  I'se 
gwinewhar  you's  gwine, 
massa."  One  party  of 
black  men,  who  had 
fallen  into  line,  called 
out  to  another  who 
seemed  to  be  asking  too 
many  questions,  "  Stick 
in  dar!  It's  all  right. 


1884.]  INCIDENTS    OF    THE    MARCH.  497 

We'se  gwine  along ;  we'se  free."  Major  George 
Ward  Nichols  describes  an  aged  couple  whom 
he  saw  in  a  hut  near  Milledgeville.  The  old 
negress,  pointing  her  long  finger  at  the  old  man, 
who  was  in  the  corner  of  the  fireplace,  hissed 
out,  "  What  fer  you  sit  dar?  You  s'pose  I  wait 
sixty  years  for  nutten  ?  Don't  yer  see  de  door 
open  ?  I'se  follow  my  child,  I  not  stay,  I  walks  till 
I  drop  in  my  tracks." 

The  army  destroyed  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
Georgia  Central  Railroad,  burning  the  ties  and 
heating  and  twisting  the  rails.  As  they  had 
learned  that  a  rail  merely  bent  could  be  straight 
ened  and  used  again,  a  special  tool  was  invented 
with  which  a  red-hot  rail  could  be  quickly  twisted 
like  an  auger,  and  rendered  forever  useless.  They 
also  had  special  appliances  for  tearing  up  the  track 
methodically  and  rapidly.  All  the  depot  buildings 
were  in  flames  as  soon  as  the  column  reached 
them.  As  the  bloodhounds  had  been  used  to 
track  escaped  prisoners,  the  men  killed  all  that 
they  could  find. 

The  foraging  parties  —  or  "bummers,"  as  they 
were  popularly  called  —  went  out  for  miles  on  each 
side,  starting  in  advance  of  the  organizations  to 
which  they  belonged,  gathered  immense  quantities 
of  provisions,  and  brought  them  to  the  line  of 
march,  where  each  stood  guard  over  his  pile  till 
his  own  brigade  came  along.  The  progress  of  the 
column  was  not  allowed  to  be  interrupted  for  the 
reception  of  the  forage,  everything  being  loaded 
upon  the  wagons  as  they  moved.  The  "flankers" 


498  CAPTURE    OF    FORT    M'ALLISTER.  [1864. 

were  thrown  out  on  either  side,  passing  in  thin 
lines  through  the  woods  to  prevent  any  surprise 
by  the  enemy,  while  the  mounted  officers  went 
through  the  fields  to  give  the  road  to  the  troops 
and  trains. 

The  only  serious  opposition  came  from  Wheeler's 
Confederate  cavalry,  which  hung  on  the  flanks  of 
the  army  and  burned  some  bridges,  but  was  well 
taken  care  of  by  Kilpatrick's,  who  generally  de 
feated  it  when  brought  to  an  encounter.  There 
was  great  hope  that  Kilpatrick  would  be  able  to 
release  the  prisoners  of  war  confined  in  Millen,  but 
when  he  arrived  there  he  found  that  they  had 
been  removed  to  some  other  part  of  the  Con 
federacy.  When  the  advance  guard  was  within 
a  few  miles  of  Savannah,  there  was  some  fighting 
with  infantry,  and  a  pause  before  the  defences  of 
the  city. 

Fort  McAllister,  which  stood  in  the  way  of 
communication  with  the  blockading  fleet,  was 
elaborately  protected  with  ditches,  palisades,  and 
chevaux-de-frise  ;  but  General  William  B.  Hazen's 
division  made  short  work  with  it,  going  straight 
over  everything  and  capturing  the  fort  on  the  i3th 
of  December,  losing  ninety-two  men  in  the  assault, 
and  killing  or  wounding  about  fifty  of  the  garrison. 
That  night  General  Sherman,  with  a  few  officers, 
pulled  down  the  river  in  a  yawl  and  visited  a  gun 
boat  of  the  fleet  in  Ossabaw  Sound.  Four  days 
later,  having  established  full  communication,  Sher 
man  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  city  of  Savan 
nah,  which  General  William  J.  Hardee,  who  was 


1864.]  SHERMAN    OCCUPIES    SAVANNAH.  499 

in  command  there  with  a  considerable  force, 
refused.  Sherman  then  took  measures  to  make  its 
investment  complete  ;  but  on  the  morning  of  the 
2 ist  it  was  found  to  be  evacuated  by  Hardee's 
forces,  and  General  John  W.  Geary's  division  of 
the  Twentieth  Corps  marched  in.  The  next  day 
Sherman  wrote  to  the  President  :  "  I  beg  to  pre 
sent  you  as  a  Christmas  gift  the  city  of  Savannah, 
with  one  hundred  and  fifty  heavy 'guns  and  plenty 
of  ammunition,  also  about  twenty-five  thousand 
bales  of  cotton."  Sherman's  entire  loss  in  the 
march  had  been  seven  hundred  and  sixty-four  men. 

That  phase  of  war  which  reaches  behind  the 
armies  in  the  field  and  strikes  directly  at  the 
sources  of  supply,  bringing  home  its  burdens  and 
its  hardships  to  men  who  are  urging  on  the  con 
flict  without  participating  in  it,  was  never  exhibited 
on  a  grander  scale  or  conducted  with  more  com 
plete  success.  This  in  fact  is  the  most  humane 
kind  of  war,  since  it  accomplishes  the  purpose 
with  the  least  destruction  of  life  and  limb.  Sher 
man's  movement  across  Georgia  naturally  brings 
to  mind  another  famous  march  to  the  sea ;  but 
that  was  a  retreat  of  ten  thousand,  while  this  was 
a  victorious  advance  of  sixty  thousand,  and  it 
was  only  in  their  shout  of  welcome,  Thalatta ! 
thalatta  !  "  The  sea  !  the  sea  !  "  that  the  weary 
and  disheartened  Greeks  resembled  Sherman's 
triumphant  legions. 

When  Hood  found  that  he  could  not  lure  Sher 
man  away  from  Atlanta,  or  make  him  loose  his 
hold  upon  that  prize  of  his  long  campaign,  he 


500 


BATTLE    OF    FRANKLIN. 


[1864. 


turned  toward  Nashville,  under  orders  from  Rich 
mond,  hoping  to  destroy  the  army  that  Thomas 
was  organizing.  He  was  hindered  by  heavy  rains, 
and  it  was  late  in  November  when  he  arrived  at 
Duck  River,  about  forty  miles  south  of  the  city. 

Here  he  found 
a  force  under 
General  John 
M.Schofield, 
which  was 
easily  flanked 
by  crossing  the 
river,  whereup 
on  Schofield  fell 
back  to  Frank 
lin,  on  Harpeth 
River,  eighteen 
miles  from 
Nashville,  intrenched  a  line  south  and  west  of 
the  town,  with  both  flanks  resting  on  bends  of 
the  river,  and  got  his  artillery  and  trains  across  the 
stream,  placing  the  guns  where  they  could  play 
upon  any  attacking  force.  Schofield  had  about 
twenty-five  thousand  men,  and  Hood  over  forty 
thousand.  In  the  afternoon  of  November  30, 
the  attack  was  made.  Schofield's  rear  guard,  con 
sisting  of  Wagner's  brigade,  instead  of  falling  back 
to  the  main  body,  as  ordered,  so  as  to  permit  the 
fire  of  the  whole  line  to  be  poured  into  the  advanc 
ing  enemy,  attempted  to  withstand  the  Confeder 
ate  onset.  Of  course  it  was  quickly  swept  back, 
and  as  the  men  rushed  in  confusion  into  the  lines 


1864.]  BATTLE    OF    NASHVILLE.  50! 

they  were  closely  followed  by  the  enemy,  who 
captured  a  portion  of  the  intrenchments.  From  a 
part  of  the  line  thus  seized  they  were  driven  in 
turn,  but  they  clung  tenaciously  to  the  remainder, 
and  Schofield  established  a  new  line  a  few  rods 
in  the  rear.  Here  the  fight  continued  long 
after  dark,  with  no  special  advantage  to  either 
side.  Hood  lost  six  thousand  three  hundred  men, 
and  Schofield  twenty-five  hundred.  At  midnight 
Schofield  crossed  the  river  and  retreated  to 
Nashville.  Hood  followed  him,  and  there  con 
fronted  Thomas's  whole  army. 

Everybody  complained  of  Thomas's  slowness, 
and  he  was  in  imminent  danger  of  being  super 
seded  ;  but  he  would  not  assume  the  offensive  till 
he  felt  that  his  army  was  prepared  to  make  sure 
work.  When  all  was  ready,  he  still  had  to  delay 
because  of  bad  weather;  but  on  the  i5th  of 
December  (one  day  after  Sherman  reached  the 
sea)  the  long-meditated  blow  was  given.  Thomas's 
army  advanced  against  Hood's,  striking  it  simul 
taneously  in  front  and  on  the  left  flank.  The 
weight  of  the  attack  fell  upon  the  flank,  which  was 
completely  crushed,  and  a  part  of  the  intrench 
ments  with  their  guns  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
National  forces.  In  the  night  Hood  retreated  a 
mile  or  two,  to  another  line  on  the  hills,  made 
some  new  dispositions,  and  awaited  attack.  He 
was  seriously  embarrassed  by  the  absence  of  a 
large  part  of  Forrest's  cavalry,  which  should  have 
been  protecting  his  flanks.  In  the  afternoon  of 
the  1 6th,  Thomas,  having  sent  Wilson's  cavalry 


5<D2  HOOD    DESTROYED.  [1864. 

around  the  enemy's  left  flank,  attacked  with  his 
whole  force.  He  made  no  headway  against 
Hood's  right,  but  again  he  crushed  the  left  flank, 
and  followed  up  the  advantage  so  promptly  and 
vigorously  that  all  organization  in  the  Confederate 
army  was  lost,  and  what  was  left  of  it  fled  in  wild 
confusion  toward  Franklin,  pursued  by  Wilson's 
cavalry.  Thomas  captured  all  their  artillery,  and 
took  forty-five  hundred  prisoners.  The  number 
of  their  killed  and  wounded  was  never  reported. 
His  own  loss  was  about  three  thousand. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

THE     FINAL    BATTLES. 

AFTER  Sherman's  army  had  marched  through 
Georgia  and  captured  Savannah,  he  and  Gen 
eral  Grant  at  first  contemplated  removing  it  by 
water  to  the  James,  and  placing  it  where  it  could 
act  in  immediate  connection  with  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  against  Petersburg  and  Richmond. 
But  several  considerations  soon  led  to  a  different 
plan.  One  was,  the  difficulty  of  getting  together 
enough  transports  to  carry  sixty-five  thousand  men 
and  all  their  equipage  without  too  much  delay. 
A  still  stronger  one  was  the  fact  that  in  a  march 
through  the  Carolinas  General  Sherman's  army 
could  probably  do  more  to  help  Grant's  and  bring 
the  war  to  a  speedy  close  than  if  it  were  suddenly 
set  down  beside  it  in  Virginia.  The  question  of 
supplies,  always  a  vital  one  for  an  army,  had  be 
come  very  serious  in  the  military  affairs  of  the 
Confederacy.  The  trans-Mississippi  region  had 
been  cut  off  long  ago,  the  blockade  of  the  seaports 
had  been  growing  more  stringent,  Sheridan  had 
desolated  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  Sherman  had 
eaten  out  the  heart  of  Georgia.  And  now  if 
that  same  army,  with  its  increased  experience  and 
confidence,  should  go  through  South  and  North 
Carolina,  living  on  the  country,  Lee's  position  in 


504  SHERMAN    MOVES    NORTHWARD.  [1865. 

the  defences  of  Richmond  would  soon  become  un 
tenable  from  mere  lack  of  something  for  his  army 
to  eat.  Sherman's  military  instinct  never  failed 
him  ;  and  after  tarrying  at  Savannah  three  weeks, 
he  gathered  up  his  forces  for  another  stride  to 
ward  the  final  victory.  Turning  over  the  city  on 
January  18,  1865,  to  General  JohnG.  Foster,  who 
was  in  command  on  the  coast,  he  issued  orders  on 
the  i gth  for  the  movement  of  his  whole  army. 

The  right  wing  was  concentrated  at  Pocotaligo, 
about  forty  miles  north  of  Savannah,  and  the  left 
at  Robertsville,  twenty  miles  west  of  Pocotaligo. 
After  some  delay  caused  by  the  weather  and  the 
necessity  for  final  preparations,  the  northward 
march  was  begun  on  the  ist  of  February.  Sher 
man  had  sent  out  rumors  that  represented  both 
Charleston  and  Augusta  as  his  immediate  goal  ; 
but  instead  of  turning  aside  for  either  of  those 
cities,  he  pushed  straight  northward,  on  a  route 
midway  between  them,  toward  Columbia. 

This  march,  though  not  so  romantic  as  that 
through  Georgia,  where  a  great  army  was  for  several 
weeks  hidden  from  all  its  friends,  was  really  much 
more  difficult  and  dangerous,  and  required  greater 
skill.  In  the  march  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea,  the 
army  moved  parallel  with  the  courses  of  the  rivers, 
and  found  highways  between  them  that  it  was  not 
easy  for  any  but  a  large  force  to  obstruct  or  destroy. 
But  in  the  march  through  the  Carolinas  all  the 
streams,  and  some  of  them  were  rivers,  had  to  be 
crossed.  A  single  man  could  burn  a  bridge  and 
stop  an  army  for  several  hours.  Moreover,  after 


1865.] 


JOHNSTON    RESTORED    TO   COMMAND. 


505 


the  disasters  that  befell  General  Hood  at  Franklin 
and  Nashville,  public  sentiment  in  the  Confeder 


acy  had  demanded  the  reinstatement  of  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston,  and  that  able  soldier  had 
been  placed  in  command  of  whatever  remained  of 


506        THE    MARCH    THROUGH    THE    CAROLINAS.        [1865. 

Hood's  army,  to  which  were  added  all  the  scat 
tered  detachments  and  garrisons  that  were  avail 
able,  and  with  this  force  he  took  the  field  against 
his  old  antagonist.  Of  course  he  was  not  able 
now  to  meet  Sherman  in  anything  like  a  pitched 
battle ;  but  there  was  no  telling  how  a  sud 
den  blow  might  fall  upon  an  army  on  the  march. 
Another  danger,  which  was  seriously  contemplated 
by  Sherman,  was  that  Lee,  instead  of  remaining  in 
his  intrenchments  while  his  source  of  supply  was 
being  cut  off,  might  with  his  whole  army  slip  away 
from  Grant  and  come  down  to  strike  Sherman 
somewhere  between  Columbia  and  Raleigh.  With 
a  caution  that  admirably  balanced  his  boldness, 
Sherman  arranged  to  have  the  fleet  cooperate  with 
him  along  the  coast,  watching  his  progress  and 
establishing  points  where  supplies  could  be 
reached  and  refuge  taken  if  necessary.  He  even 
sent  engineers  to  repair  the  railroads  that,  starting 
from  the  ports  of  Wilmington  and  Newbern,  unite 
at  Goldsboro,  and  to  collect  rolling-stock  there. 
He  intended,  when  once  under  way,  to  push 
through  to  Goldsboro,  four  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  miles,  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

Wheeler's  cavalry  had  been  considerably  reduced 
by  its  constant  efforts  to  delay  the  march  through 
Georgia,  and  Wade  Hampton's,  heretofore  with 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  was  now  sent 
down  to  its  assistance.  They  felled  trees  in  the 
roads,  and  attempted  to  make  a  stand  at  Salke- 
hatchie  River;  but  Sherman's  men  made  nothing 
of  picking  up  the  trees  and  casting  them  one  side, 


18C5.]  COLUMBIA    BURNED.  507 

while  the  force  at  the  river  was  quickly  brushed 
away.  The  South  Carolina  Railroad  was  soon 
reached,  and  the  track  was  destroyed  for  miles. 
Then  all  the  columns  pushed  on  for  Columbia. 
Sherman  expected  to  meet  serious  opposition 
there,  for  it  was  the  capital  of  the  State;  but  the 
Confederate  leaders  were  holding  their  forces  at 
Charleston  and  Augusta,  confidently  expecting 
those  cities  to  be  attacked,  and  nothing  but  Hamp 
ton's  cavalry  was  left  to  take  care  of  Columbia. 
The  main  difficulty  was  at  the  rivers,  where  the 
Confederates  had  burned  the  bridges,  which  Sher 
man's  men  rapidly  rebuilt,  and  on  the  i;th  the 
National  troops  entered  the  city  as  Hampton's 
cavalry  left  it.  Bales  of  cotton,  piled  up  in  the 
streets,  were  on  fire,  there  was  a  high  wind,  and 
the  flakes  of  cotton  were  flying  through  the  air 
like  a  snow-storm.  In  spite  of  all  efforts  of  the 
soldiers,  the  fire  persistently  spread  at  night,  several 
buildings  burst  into  a  blaze,  and  before  morning 
the  heart  of  the  city  was  a  heap  of  ruins.  There 
has  been  an  acrimonious  dispute  as  to  the  respon 
sibility  for  this  fire.  It  seems  probable  that  Hamp 
ton's  soldiers  set  fire  to  the  cotton,  perhaps  with 
out  orders,  and  it  seems  improbable  that  any  one 
would  purposely  set  fire  to  the  city.  At  all  events, 
Sherman's  men  did  their  utmost  to  extinguish  the 
flames,  and  that  General  gave  the  citizens  five 
hundred  head  of  cattle,  and  did  what  he  could  to 
shelter  them.  He  did  destroy  the  arsenal  pur 
posely,  and  tons  of  powder,  shot,  and  shell  were 
taken  out  of  it,  hauled  to  the  river,  and  sunk  in 


508  CHARLESTON    EVACUATED.  [18(55. 

deep  water.  He  also  destroyed  the  foundries  and 
the  establishment  in  which  the  Confederacy's  paper 
money  was  printed,  large  quantities  of  which  were 
found  and  carried  away  by  the  soldiers. 

That  same  day,  the  i8th,  Charleston  was  evacu 
ated  by  the  Confederate  forces  under  General 
Hardee,  and  a  brigade  of  National  troops  com 
manded  by  General  Schimmelpfennig  promptly 
took  possession  of  it. 

On  the  2Oth,  leaving  Columbia,  Sherman's  army 
bore  away  for  Fayetteville,  the  right  wing  going 
through  Cheraw,  and  the  left  through  Lancaster 
and  Sneedsboro,  and  threatening  Charlotte  and 
Salisbury.  The  most  serious  difficulty  was  met  at 
Catawba  River,  where  the  bridges  were  destroyed, 
the  floods  interfered  with  the  building  of  new  ones, 
and  there  was  a  delay  of  nearly  a  week.  In  Cheraw 
was  stored  a  large  amount  of  valuable  personal 
property,  including  fine  furniture  and  costly  wines, 
which  had  been  sent  from  Charleston  for  safe 
keeping.  Most  of  this  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
invading  army.  Here  also  were  found  a  large 
number  of  arms  and  thirty-six  hundred  barrels 
of  powder ;  and  here,  as  at  Columbia,  lives  were 
lost  by  the  carelessness  of  a  soldier  in  exploding 
the  powder. 

Fayetteville  was  reached  on  the  nth  of  March, 
and  here  communication  was  opened  with  General 
Alfred  H.  Terry,  whose  men  had  captured  Fort 
Fisher,  below  Wilmington,  after  a  gallant  fight,  in 
January,  and  later  the  city  itself,  thus  closing  that 
harbor  to  blockade-runners.  In  taking  the  fort, 


1865.] 


CAPTURE    OF    FORT    FISHER. 


509 


Terry's  men  had  fought  their  way  from  traverse 
to  traverse,  and  the  stubborn  garrison  had  only 
yielded  when  they 
literally  reached 
the  last  ditch.  All 
this  time  the  Con 
federate  forces, 
somewhat  scattered, 
had  hung  on  the 
flanks  of  Sherman's 
column  or  disposed 
themselves  to  pro 
tect  the  points  that 
were  threatened.  But 
now  they  knew  he 
was  going  to  Golds- 
boro,  and  according 
ly  they  concentra 
ted  in  his  front,  be 
tween  Fayetteville 
and  that  place. 

At  Averysboro, 
thirty-  five  miles 
south  of  Raleigh,  on 
the  1 6th  of  March, 
the  left  wing  sudden 
ly  came  upon  Har- 
dee's  forces  intrenched  across  its  path.  The 
left  flank  of  the  Confederates  was  soon  turned, 
and  they  fell  back  to  a  stronger  position.  Here  a 
direct  attack  was  made,  but  without  success,  and 
Kilpatrick's  cavalry  was  roughly  handled  by  a 


G^   i 
><&P 
*°V 


APE  FEAR 


510  BATTLE    OF    BENTONVILLE.  L1865. 

division  of  Confederate  infantry.  General  Slocum 
then  began  a  movement  to  turn  the  flank  again, 
and  in  the  night  Hardee  retreated.  Each  side  had 
lost  five  hundred  men. 

Averysboro  is  about  forty  miles  west  of  Golds- 
boro.  Midway  between  is  Bentonville,  where'  on 
the  i  Qth  the  left  wing  again  found  the  enemy  in 
trenched  across  the  way,  this  time  in  greater  force 
and  commanded  by  General  Johnston.  Thickets 
of  black-jack  protected  the  flanks,  and  it  was 
ugly  ground  for  fighting  over.  Slocum's  men  at 
tacked  the  position  in  force  as  soon  as  they  came 
upon  it.  They  quickly  broke  the  Confederate  right 
flank,  drove  it  back,  and  planted  batteries  to  com 
mand  that  part  of  the  field.  On  the  other  flank 
the  thickets  interfered  more  with  the  organization 
of  both  sides,  the  National  troops  threw  up  in- 
trenchments,  both  combatants  attacked  alternately, 
and  the  fighting  was  very  bloody.  After  nightfall 
the  Confederates  withdrew  toward  Raleigh,  and 
the  road  was  then  open  for  Sherman  to  march  into 
Goldsboro.  At  Bentonville,  the  last  battle  fought 
by  this  army,  the  National  loss  was  sixteen  hun 
dred  and  four  men,  the  Confederate  twenty-three 
hundred  and  forty-two.  At  Goldsboro  Sherman 
was  joined  by  Schofield's  corps,  which  had  been 
transferred  thither  from  Thomas's  army. 

Several  attempts  to  negotiate  a  peace  were  made 
during  the  winter  of  1864-5,  the  most  notable  of 
which  took  place  early  in  February,  when  Alexan 
der  H.  Stephens,  Vice-President  of  the  Confed 
eracy,  accompanied  by  John  A.  Campbell  and 


1865.]  A    PEACE   CONFERENCE.  511 

Robert  M.  T.  Hunter,  applied  for  permission  to 
pass  through  Grant's  lines  for  the  purpose.  They 
were  conducted  to  Fort  Monroe,  met  President 
Lincoln  and  Secretary  Seward  on  a  steamer  in 
Hampton  Roads,  and  had  a  long  and  free  discus 
sion.  The  Confederate  commissioners  proposed 
an  armistice,  with  the  hope  that  after  a  time,  if 
trade  and  friendly  relations  were  resumed,  some 
sort  of  settlement  or  compromise  could  be  reached 
without  more  fighting.  But  Mr.  Lincoln  would 
consent  to  no  peace  or  armistice  of  any  kind,  except 
on  condition  of  the  immediate  disbandment  of  the 
Confederate  armies  and  government,  the  restor 
ation  of  the  Union,  and  the  abolition  of  slavery. 
With  these  points  secured,  he  was  willing  to  con 
cede  everything  else.  Mr.  Stephens,  trying  to 
convince  Mr.  Lincoln  that  he  might  properly 
recognize  the  Confederacy,  cited  the  example  of 
Charles  I.  of  England  negotiating  with  his  rebel 
lious  subjects.  "  I  am  not  strong  on  history,"  said 
Lincoln,  "  I  depend  mainly  on  Secretary  Seward 
for  that.  All  I  remember  about  Charles  is,  that 
he  lost  his  head."  The  Confederate  commis 
sioners  were  not  authorized  to  concede  the  restor 
ation  of  the  Union,  and  thus  the  conference  ended 
with  no  practical  result. 

Late  in  February  General  Sheridan,  at  the  head 
of  ten  thousand  cavalry,  moved  far  up  the  Shenan- 
doah  Valley,  and  at  Waynesboro  his  Third  Division, 
commanded  by  General  Custer,  met  Early's  force 
on  the  2d  of  March.  In  the  engagements  that 
ensued,  Early  was  completely  defeated,  and 


512  LEE    PLANS    TO    ESCAPE.  U865. 

about  fifteen  hundred  of  his  men  were  captured, 
together  with  every  gun  he  had,  and  all  his  trains. 
Sheridan  then1  ruined  the  locks  in  the  James  River 
Canal,  destroyed  portions  of  the  railroads  toward 
Lynchburg  and  Gordonsville,  and  rode  down  the 
peninsula  to  White  House,  crossed  over  to  the 
James,  and  joined  Grant,  taking  post  on  the  left 
of  the  army,  and  occupying  Dinwiddie  Court 
House  on  the  2Qth. 

Grant  and  Lee  had  both  been  waiting  impa 
tiently  for  the  roads  to  dry,  so  that  wagons  and 
guns  could  be  moved — Lee  because  he  saw  that 
Richmond  could  not  be  held  any  longer,  and  was 
anxious  to  get  away  ;  Grant  because  he  was  anxious 
to  begin  the  final  campaign  and  prevent  Lee  from 
getting  away.  The  only  chance  for  Lee  to  escape 
was  by  slipping  past  Grant's  left,  and  either  join 
ing  Johnston  in  North  Carolina  or  taking  a  position 
in  the  mountainous  country  to  the  west.  But 
Grant's  left  extended  too  far  westward  to  permit 
of  this  without  great  hazard.  To  compel  him  to 
contract  his  lines,  drawing  in  his  left,  Lee  planned 
a  bold  attack  on  his  right,  which  was  executed  in 
the  night  of  the  24th.  Large  numbers  of  deserters 
had  recently  left  the  Confederate  army  and  walked 
across  to  Grant's  lines,  bringing  their  arms  with 
them,  and  this  circumstance  was  now  used  for 
a  ruse.  At  a  point  where  the  hostile  lines  were 
not  more  than  a  hundred  yards  apart,  some 
of  General  Gordon's  men  walked  out  to  the 
National  picket-line  as  if  they  were  deserters, 
seized  the  pickets,  and  sent  them  back  as  prisoners. 


1865-]  FIGHTING    BEFORE    PETERSBURG.  513 

Then  a  column  charged  through  the  gap,  surprised 
the  men  in  the  main  line,  and  captured  a  section 
of  the  works.  But  General  Parke,  commanding 
the  Ninth  Corps,  where  the  assault  was  delivered, 
promptly  made  dispositions  to  check  it.  The 
Confederates  were  headed  off  in  both  directions, 
and  a  large  number  of  guns  were  soon  planted 
where  they  could  sweep  the  ground  that  had  been 
captured.  A  line  of  intrenchments  was  thrown  up 
in  the  rear,  and  the  survivors  of  the  charging 
column  found  themselves  where  they  could  neither 
go  forward  nor  retreat  nor  be  reenforced.  Con 
sequently  they  were  all  made  prisoners.  This 
affair  cost  the  Confederates  about  four  thousand 
men,  and  inflicted  a  loss  of  two  thousand  upon  the 
National  army. 

Grant,  instead  of  contracting  his  lines,  was 
making  dispositions  to  extend  them.  Three  divis 
ions  under  General  E.  O.  C.  Ord  were  brought 
from  his  right,  before  Richmond,  in  the  night  of 
the  2  ;th,  and  placed  on  his  extreme  left,  while  a 
movement  was  planned  for  the  2Qth  by  which  that 
wing  was  to  be  pushed  out  to  the  Southside  Rail 
road.  When  the  day  appointed  for  the  movement 
arrived,  heavy  rains  had  made  the  ground  so  soft 
that  the  roads  had  to  be  corduroyed  before  the 
artillery  could  be  dragged  over  them.  But  the 
army  was  used  to  this  sort  of  work,  and  performed 
it  with  marvellous  quickness.  Small  trees  were 
cut  down,  and  rail  fences  disappeared  in  a  twink 
ling,  while  the  rude  flooring  thus  constructed 
stretched  out  over  the  sodden  road  and  kept  the 


514  BATTLE   OF    FIVE    FORKS.  [1865. 

wheels  of  the  guns  from  sinking  hopelessly  in  the 
mire  and  quicksands. 

Grant's  extreme  left,  where  the  critical  move 
ment  was  to  be  made,  was  now  held  by  his  most 
energetic  lieutenant,  General  Sheridan,  with  his 
magnificent  cavalry.  By  Grant's  orders,  Sheridan 
made  a  march  through  Dinwiddie  Court  House, 
to  come  in  upon  the  extreme  Confederate  right 
at  Five  Forks,  which  he  struck  on  the  3ist.  He 
had  no  difficulty  in  driving  away  the  Confederate 
cavalry;  but  when  a  strong  infantry  force  was  en 
countered  he  was  himself  driven  back,  and  called 
upon  Grant  for  help.  Grant  sent  the  Fifth  Corps 
to  his  assistance  ;  but  it  was  unusually  slow  in 
moving,  and  was  stopped  by  the  loss  of  a  bridge 
at  Gravelly  Run,  so  that  it  was  midday  of  April 
ist  before  Sheridan  began  to  get  it  in  hand.  Lee 
had  strengthened  the  force  holding  Five  Forks  ; 
but  Sheridan  was  determined  to  capture  the  place, 
and  when  his  troops  were  all  up,  late  in  the  after 
noon,  he  opened  the  battle  on  a  well-conceived 
plan.  Engaging  the  enemy  with  his  cavalry  in 
front,  he  used  the  Fifth  Corps  as  if  it  were  his 
immense  right  arm,  swinging  it  around  so  as  to 
embrace  and  crush  the  Confederate  force.  With 
bloody  but  brief  fighting  the  manoeuvre  was  suc 
cessful  ;  Five  Forks  was  secured,  and  more  than 
five  thousand  prisoners  were  taken.  Sheridan's 
loss  was  about  one  thousand.  In  the  hour  of  vic 
tory  came  orders  from  Sheridan  relieving  Warren 
of  his  command,  because  of  that  officer's  slowness 
in  bringing  his  corps  to  the  attack.  Whether  this 


1835.]  LEES    LINES    BROKEN.  515 

harsh  action  was  justified  or  not,  it  threw  a  blight 
upon  the  career  of  one  of  the  best  corps  com 
manders  that  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  ever  had, 
and  excited  the  regret,  if  not  the  indignation,  of 
every  man  that  had  served  under  him. 

Judging  that  Lee  must  have  drawn  forces  from 
other  parts  of  his  line  to  strengthen  his  right, 
Grant  followed  up  the  advantage  by  attacking 
Lee's  centre  at  daybreak  the  next  morning,  Sun 
day,  April  2,  with  the  corps  of  Wright  and 
Parke,  the  Sixth  and  Ninth.  Both  of  these  broke 
through  the  Confederate  lines  in  the  face  of  a 
musketry  fire,  took  large  portions  of  them  in 
reverse,  and  captured  three  or  four  thousand 
prisoners  and  several  guns.  The  Second  Corps 
under  General  Andrew  A.  Humphreys,  and  three 
divisions  under  General  Ord,  made  a  similar  move 
ment,  with  similar  success,  Sheridan  moved  up  on 
the  left,  and  the  outer  defences  of  Petersburg 
were  now  in  the  possession  of  the  National  forces, 
who  encircled  the  city  with  a  continuous  line  from 
a  point  on  the  Appomattox  River  above  to  one 
below.  Two  strong  earthworks,  Forts  Gregg  and 
Whitworth,  salient  to  the  inner  Confederate  line, 
still  held  out.  But  Foster's  division  of  the 
Twenty-Fourth  Corps  carried  Fort  Gregg  after  a 
costly  assault,  and  Fort  Whitworth  then  surren 
dered.  In  the  fighting  of  this  day  the  Confed 
erate  General  A.  P.  Hill  was  killed. 

General  Lee  now  sent  a  telegram  to  Richmond, 
saying  that  both  cities  must  be  evacuated.  It  was 
received  in  church  by  Mr.  Davis,  who  quietly 


516  RICHMOND    EVACUATED.  [1865. 

withdrew  without  waiting  for  the  service  to  be 
finished.  As  the  signs  of  evacuation  became  evi 
dent  to  the  people,  there  was  a  general  rush  for 
means  of  conveyance,  and  property  of  all  sorts 
was  brought  into  the  streets  in  confused  masses. 
Committees  appointed  by  the  city  council  at 
tempted  to  destroy  all  the  liquor,  and  hundreds  of 
barrelfuls  were  poured  into  the  gutters.  The 
great  tobacco  warehouses  were  set  on  fire,  under 
military  orders,  and  the  iron-clad  rams  in  the 
river  blown  up ;  while  a  party  of  drunken  soldiers 
began  a  course  of  pillaging,  which  became  con 
tagious  and  threw  everything  into  the  wildest 
confusion.  The  next  morning  a  detachment  of 
black  troops  from  General  Godfrey  Weitzel's 
command  marched  into  the  city,  and  the  flag  of 
the  1 2th  Maine  regiment  was  hoisted  over  the 
Capitol. 

When  Lee,  with  the  remnant  of  his  army,  with 
drew  from  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  he  fled 
westward,  still  keeping  up  the  organization,  though 
his  numbers  were  constantly  diminishing  by  deser 
tion,  straggling,  and  capture.  Grant  was  in  close 
pursuit,  striving  to  head  him  off,  and  determined 
not  to  let  him  escape.  He  moved  mainly  on  a 
parallel  route  south  of  Lee's,  attacking  vigorously 
whenever  any  portion  of  the  hostile  forces  ap 
proached  near  enough.  Some  of  these  engage 
ments  were  very  sharply  contested,  and  as  the 
men  on  both  sides  had  attained  the  highest  per 
fection  of  destructive  skill,  and  were  not  sheltered 
by  intrenchments,  the  losses  were  severe,  and  the 


11865.       MAP    SHOWING    LINE    OF    LEE's    RETREAT.         517 


518  LEE    SURRENDERS.  [1865. 

seventy  miles  of  the  race  was  a  long  track  of 
blood.  There  were  collisions  at  Jetersville,  Deton- 
ville,  Deep  Creek,  Sailor's  Creek,  Paine's  Cross 
Roads,  and  Farmville ;  the  most  important  being 
that  at  Sailor's  Creek,  where  Custer  broke  the 
Confederate  line,  capturing  four  hundred  wagons, 
sixteen  guns,  and  many  prisoners,  and  then  the 
Sixth  Corps  came  up  and  captured  the  whole  of 
Ewell's  corps,  including  Ewell  himself  and  four 
other  generals.  Lee  was  stopped  by  the  loss  of  a 
provision  train,  and  spent  a  day  in  trying  to  col 
lect  from  the  surrounding  country  something  for 
his  famished  soldiers  to  eat. 

When  he  arrived  at  Appomattox  Court  House, 
April  9,  a  week  from  the  day  he  set  out,  he  found 
Sheridan's  dismounted  cavalry  in  line  across  his 
path,  and  his  infantry  advanced  confidently  to 
brush  them  away.  But  the  cavalrymen  drew  off 
to  the  right,  and  disclosed  a  heavy  line  of  blue- 
coated  infantry  and  gleaming  steel.  Before  this 
the  weary  Confederates  recoiled,  and  just  as 
Sheridan  was  preparing  to  charge  upon  their  flank 
with  his  cavalry  a  white  flag  was  sent  out,  and 
hostilities  were  suspended  on  information  that 
negotiations  for  a  surrender  were  in  progress. 
Grant  had  first  demanded  Lee's  surrender  in  a 
note  written  on  the  afternoon  of  the  7th.  Three 
or  four  other  notes  had  passed  between  them,  and 
on  the  Qth  the  two  commanders  met  at  a  house  in 
the  village,  where  they  wrote  and  exchanged  two 
brief  letters  by  which  the  surrender  of  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia  was  effected ;  the  terms 


1865.]  GRANTS    GENEROUS    TERMS.  519 

being  simply  that  the  men  were  to  lay  down  their 
arms  and  return  to  their  homes,  not  to  be  molested 
so  long  as  they  did  not  again  take  up  arms  against 
the  United  States.  The  exceeding  generosity  of 
these  terms,  to  an  army  that  had  exacted  almost 
the  last  life  it  had  power  to  destroy,  was  a  sur 
prise  to  many  who  remembered  the  unconditional 
surrender  that  General  Grant  had  demanded  at 
Vicksburg  and  Fort  Donelson.  But  he  considered 
that  the  war  was  over,  and  thought  the  defeated 
insurgents  would  at  once  return  to  their  homes 
and  become  good  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
In  pursuance  of  this  idea,  he  ordered  that  they  be 
permitted  to  take  their  horses  with  them,  as  they 
"  would  need  them  for  the  ploughing."  The 
starving  Confederates  were  immediately  fed  by 
their  captors,  and  by  General  Grant's  orders 
cheering,  firing  of  salutes,  and  other  demonstra 
tions  of  exultation  over  the  great  and  decisive 
victory,  were  immediately  stopped.  The  number 
of  officers  and  men  paroled,  according  to  the  terms 
of  the  surrender,  was  twenty-eight  thousand  three 
hundred  and  sixty-five. 

The  next  day  General  Lee  issued,  in  the  form 
of  a  general  order,  a  farewell  address  to  his  army, 
in  which  he  lauded  them  in  unmeasured  terms,  to 
the  implied  disparagement  of  their  conquerors, 
and  assured  them  of  his  "  unceasing  admiration  of 
their  constancy  and  devotion  to  their  country." 
It  seems  not  to  have  occurred  to  the  General  that 
he  had  no  army,  for  it  had  been  taken  away  from 
him,  and  no  right  to  issue  a  military  document  of 


52O  SURRENDER    OF    THE    OTHER    ARMIES.  [1865. 

any  kind,  for  he  was  a  prisoner  of  war ;  and  he 
certainly  must  have  forgotten  that  the  costly  court 
of  last  resort,  to  which  he  and  they  had  appealed, 
had  just  decided  that  their  country  as  he  defined 
it  had  no  existence. 

General  Johnston,  who  was  confronting  Sher 
man  in  North  Carolina,  surrendered  his  army  to 
that  commander  at  Durham  Station,  near  Raleigh, 
on  the  26th  of  April,  receiving  the  same  terms 
that  had  been  granted  to  Lee  ;  and  the  surrender 
of  all  the  other  Confederate  armies  soon  followed, 
the  last  being  the  command  of  General  E.  Kirby 
Smith,  at  Shreveport,  La.,  on  the  26th  of  May. 
The  number  of  Johnston's  immediate  command 
surrendered  and  paroled  was  thirty-six  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  seventeen,  to  whom  were  added 
fifty-two  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty-three  in 
Georgia  and  Florida. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

PEACE. 

No  account  of  the  war,  however  brief,  can  prop 
erly  be  closed  without  some  mention  of  the  forces 
other  than  military  that  contributed  to  its  success. 
The  assistance  and  influence  of  the  "  war  Gover 
nors,"  as  they  were  called  —  including  John  A. 
Andrew  of  Massachusetts,  William  A.  Bucking 
ham  of  Connecticut,  Edwin  D.  Morgan  of  New 
York,  William  Dennison  of  Ohio,  and  Oliver  P. 
Morton  of  Indiana  —  was  vital  to  the  cause,  and 
was  acknowledged  as  generously  as  it  was  given. 
There  was  also  a  class  of  citizens  who,  by  reason 
of  age  or  other  disability,  did  not  go  to  the  front, 
and  would  not  have  been  permitted  to,  but  found 
a  way  to  assist  the  Government  perhaps  even  more 
efficiently.  They  were  thoughtful  and  scholarly 
men,  who  brought  out  and  placed  at  the  service 
of  their  country  every  lesson  that  could  be  drawn 
from  history  ;  practical  and  experienced  men,  whose 
hard  sense  and  knowledge  of  affairs  made  them 

o 

natural  leaders  in  the  councils  of  the  people  ;  men 
of  fervid  eloquence,  whose  arguments  and  appeals 
aroused  all  there  was  of  latent  patriotism  in  their 
younger  and  hardier  countrymen,  and  contributed 
wonderfully  to  the  rapidity  with  which  quotas  were 
filled  and  regiments  forwarded  to  the  seat  of  war. 


522  THE    SUDDEN    END.  [1865. 

There  were  great  numbers  of  devoted  women,  who 
performed  uncomplainingly  the  hardest  hospital 
service,  and  managed  great  fairs  and  relief  socie 
ties  with  an  enthusiasm  that  never  wearied.  And 
there  were  the  Sanitary  and  Christian  Commis 
sions,  whose  agents  went  everywhere  between  the 
depot  in  the  rear  and  the  skirmish-line  in  front, 
carrying  not  only  whatever  was  needed  to  alleviate 
the  sufferings  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  but  also 
many  things  to  beguile  the  tedious  hours  in  camp 
and  diminish  the  serious  evil  of  homesickness. 

It  was  a  common  remark,  at  the  time,  that  the 
Confederacy  crumbled  more  suddenly  in  1865  than 
it  had  risen  in  1861.  It  seemed  like  an  empty 
shell,  which,  when  fairly  broken  through,  had  no 
more  stability,  and  instantly  fell  to  ruins.  It  was 
fortunate  that  when  the  end  came  Lee's  army  was 
the  first  to  surrender,  since  all  the  other  command 
ers  felt  justified  in  following  his  example.  To 
some  on  the  Confederate  side,  especially  in  Vir 
ginia,  the  surrender  was  a  surprise,  and  came 
like  a  personal  and  irreparable  grief.  But  people 
in  other  parts  of  the  South,  especially  those  who 
had  seen  Sherman's  legions  marching  by  their 
doors,  knew  that  the  end  was  coming.  Longstreet 
had  pronounced  the  cause  lost  by  Lee's  want  of 
generalship  at  Gettysburg  ;  Ewell  had  said  there 
was  no  use  in  fighting  longer  when  Grant  had 
swung  his  army  across  the  James  ;  Johnston  and 
his  lieutenants  declared  it  wrong  to  keep  up  the 
hopeless  struggle  after  the  capital  had  been  aban 
doned  and  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  had 


1866.]  CAPTURE    OF    MR.    DAVIS.  523 

laid  down  its  weapons,  and  so  expressed  them 
selves  to  Mr.  Davis  when  he  stopped  to  confer 
with  them,  in  North  Carolina,  on  his  flight  south 
ward.  He  said  their  fortunes  might  still  be  re 
trieved,  and  independence  established,  if  those 
who  were  absent  from  the  armies  without  leave 
would  but  return  to  their  places.  He  probably 
understood  the  situation  as  well  as  General  John 
ston  did,  and  may  have  spoken  not  so  much  from 
judgment  as  from  a  consciousness  of  greater  re 
sponsibility,  a  feeling  that  as  he  was  the  first  citi 
zen  of  the  Confederacy  he  was  the  last  that  had 
any  right  to  despair  of  it. 

Nevertheless,  he  continued  his  flight  through 
the  Carolinas  into  Georgia ;  his  Cabinet  officers, 
most  of  whom  had  set  out  with  him  from  Rich 
mond,  leaving  him  one  after  another.  When  he 
had  arrived  at  Irwinsville,  Ga.,  accompanied  by 
his  family  and  Postmaster-General  Reagan,  their 
little  encampment  in  the  woods  was  surprised, 
on  the  morning  of  May  11,  by  two  detachments 
of  Wilson's  cavalry,  and  they  were  all  taken 
prisoners.  In  the  gray  of  the  morning  the  two 
detachments,  approaching  from  different  sides, 
fired  into  each  other  before  they  discovered  that 
they  were  friends,  and  two  soldiers  were  killed 
and  several  wounded.  Mr.  Davis  was  taken  to 
Savannah,  and  thence  to  Fort  Monroe,  where  he 
was  a  prisoner  for  two  years,  after  which  he  was 
released  on  bail  —  his  bondsmen  being  Cornelius 
Vanderbilt,  Horace  Greeley,  and  Gerrit  Smith, 
a  life-long  abolitionist.  He  was  never  tried. 


524  CHARACTER    OF    THE    INSURRECTION.  [1865. 

The  secession  movement  had  been  proved  to 
be  a  rebellion  and  nothing  else  —  although  the 
mightiest  of  all  rebellions.  It  never  rose  to  the 
character  of  a  revolution  ;  for  it  never  had  pos 
session  of  the  capital  or  the  public  archives,  never 
stopped  the  wheels  of  the  Government  for  a  single 
day,  was  suppressed  in  the  end,  and  attained  none 
of  its  objects.  But  although  it  was  clearly  a 
rebellion,  and  although  its  armed  struggle  had 
been  maintained  after  all  prospect  of  success  had 
disappeared,  such  was  the  magnanimity  of  the 
National  Government  and  the  Northern  people 
that  its  leaders  escaped  the  usual  fate  of  rebels. 
Except  by  temporary  political  disabilities,  not 
one  of  them  was  punished  —  neither  Mr.  Davis 
nor  Mr.  Stephens,  nor  any  member  of  the  Con 
federate  Cabinet  or  Congress  ;  neither  Lee  nor 
Johnston  nor  any  of  their  lieutenants,  not  even 
Beauregard,  who  advocated  the  black  flag,  nor 
Forrest,  who  massacred  his  prisoners  at  Fort  Pil 
low.  Most  of  the  officers  of  high  rank  in  the 
Confederate  army  were  graduates  of  the  Military 
Academy  at  West  Point,  and  had  used  their  mili 
tary  education  in  an  attempt  to  destroy  the  very 
government  that  gave  it  to  them,  and  to  which 
they  had  solemnly  sworn  allegiance.  Some  of 
them,  notably  General  Lee,  had  rushed  into  the 
rebel  service  without  waiting  for  the  United  States 
War  Department  to  accept  their  resignations. 
But  all  such  ugly  facts  were  suppressed  or  forgot 
ten,  in  the  extreme  anxiety  of  the  victors  lest  they 
should  not  be  sufficiently  magnanimous  toward 


1865.]  OTHER    REBELLIONS.  525 

the  vanquished.  There  was  but  a  single  act  of 
capital  punishment.  The  keeper  of  the  Anderson- 
ville  stockade  was  tried,  convicted,  and  executed 
for  cruelty  to  prisoners.  His  more  guilty  superior, 
General  Winder,  died  two  months  before  the  sur 
render.  Two  months  after  that  event,  the  seces 
sionist  that  had  sought  the  privilege  of  firing 
the  first  gun  at  the  flag  of  his  country,  com 
mitted  suicide  rather  than  live  under  its  pro 
tection.  The  popular  cry  that  soon  arose  was 
"  Universal  amnesty  and  universal  suffrage  !" 

No  such  exhibition  of  mercy  has  been  seen  be 
fore  or  since.  Four  years  previous  to  this  war, 
there  was  a  rebellion  against  the  authority  of 
the  British  Government ;  six  years  after  it,  there 
was  one  against  the  French  Government  ;  and  in 
both  instances  the  conquered  insurgents  were 
punished  with  the  utmost  severity.  In  our  own 
country  there  had  been  several  minor  insurrections 
preceding  the  great  one.  In  such  of  these  as  were 
aimed  against  the  institution  of  slavery-- Vesey's, 
Turner's,  and  Brown's  —  the  offenders  suffered 
the  extreme  penalty  of  the  law;  in  the  others - 
Fries's,  Shays's,  Dorr's,  and  the  whiskey  war  — 
they  were  punished  very  lightly  or  not  at  all. 

The  general  feeling  in  the  country  was  of  relief 
that  the  war  was  ended  —  hardly  less  at  the  South 
than  at  the  North.  After  the  surrender  of  the 
various  armies  the  soldiers  so  recently  in  arms 
against  each  other  behaved  more  like  brothers  than 

o 

like  enemies.  The  Confederates  were  fed  liberally 
from  the  abundant  supplies  of  the  National  com- 


526  DEATH    OF    THE    PRESIDENT.  [1865. 

missariat,  and  many  of  them  were  furnished  with 
transportation  to  their  homes  in  distant  States. 
Some  of  them  had  been  absent  from  their  families 
during  the  whole  war. 

If  the  people  of  the  North  had  any  disposition 
to  be  boisterous  over  the  final  victory,  it  was  com 
pletely  quelled  by  the  shadow  of  a  great  sorrow 
that  suddenly  fell  upon  them.  A  conspiracy  had 
been  in  progress  for  a  long  time  among  a  few  half- 
crazy  secessionists  in  and  about  the  capital.  It 
culminated  on  the  night  of  Good  Friday,  April 
14,  1865.  One  of  the  conspirators  forced  his 
way  into  Secretary  Seward's  house  and  attacked 
the  Secretary  with  a  knife,  but  did  not  succeed  in 
killing  him.  Mr.  Seward  had  been  thrown  from 
a  carriage  a  few  days  before,  and  was  lying  in  bed 
with  his  jaws  encased  in  a  metallic  framework, 
which  probably  saved  his  life.  The  chief  con 
spirator,  an  obscure  actor,  made  his  way  into  the 
box  at  Ford's  Theatre  where  the  President  and  his 
wife  were  sitting,  witnessing  the  comedy  of  "  Our 
American  Cousin,"  shot  Mr.  Lincoln  in  the  back 
of  the  head,  jumped  from  the  box  to  the  stage 
with  a  flourish  of  bravado,  shouting  "Sic  semper 
tyrannisJ"  and  escaped  behind  the  scenes  and  out 
at  the  stage  door.  The  dying  President  was  carried 
to  a  house  across  the  street,  where  he  expired  the 
next  morning.  As  the  principal  Confederate  army 
had  already  surrendered,  it  was  impossible  for  any 
one  to  suppose  that  the  killing  of  the  President 
could  affect  the  result  of  the  war.  Furthermore, 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  long  been  in  the  habit  of  going 


1865.]  LINCOLN'S  GREATNESS.  527 

to  the  War  Department  in  the  evening,  and  return 
ing  to  the  White  House,  unattended,  late  at  night ; 
so  that  an  assassin  who  merely  wished  to  put  him 
out  of  the  way  had  abundant  opportunities  for 
doing  so,  with  good  chances  of  escaping  and  con 
cealing  his  own  identity.  It  was  therefore  perfectly 
obvious  that  the  murderer's  principal  motive  was 
the  same  as  that  of  the  youth  who  set  fire  to  the 
temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus.  And  the  newspapers 
did  their  utmost  to  give  him  the  notoriety  that  he 
craved,  displaying  his  name  in  large  type  at  the 
head  of  their  columns,  and  repeating  about  him 
every  anecdote  that  could  be  recalled  or  manu 
factured.  The  consequence  was  that  sixteen 
years  later  the  country  was  disgraced  by  another 
Presidential  assassination,  mainly  from  the  same 
motive  ;  and  as  the  journalists  repeated  their  folly 
on  that  occasion,  we  shall  perhaps  have  still  an 
other  by-and-by. 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  grown  steadily  in  the  affections 
and  admiration  of  the  people.  His  state  papers 
were  the  most  remarkable  in  American  annals ; 
his  firmness  where  firmness  was  required,  and 
kindheartedness  where  kindness  was  practicable, 
were  almost  unfailing ;  and  as  the  successive 
events  of  the  war  called  forth  his  powers,  it  was 
seen  that  he  had  unlimited  shrewdness  and  tact, 
statesmanship  of  the  broadest  kind,  and  that 
honesty  of  purpose  which  is  the  highest  wisdom. 
Moreover,  his  lack  of  all  vindictive  feeling  toward 
the  insurgents,  and  his  steady  endeavor  to  make 
the  restored  Union  a  genuine  republic  of  equal 


528     LINCOLN'S  SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS, 

rights,  gave  tone  to  the  feelings  of  the  whole 
nation,  and  at  the  last  won  many  admirers  among 
his  foes  in  arms.  In  his  second  inaugural  address, 
a  month  before  his  death,  he  seemed  to  speak 
with  that  insight  and  calm  judgment  which  we 
only  look  for  in  the  studious  historian  in  after- 
times.  "  Neither  party  expected  for  the  war  the 
magnitude  or  the  duration  which  it  has  already 
attained.  Neither  anticipated  that  the  cause  of 
the  conflict  might  cease  with,  or  even  before,  the 
conflict  itself  should  cease.  Each  looked  for  an 
easier  triumph  and  a  result  less  fundamental  and 
astounding.  Both  read  the  same  Bible,  and  pray 
to  the  same  God,  and  each  invokes  his  aid  against 
the  other.  It  may  seem  strange  that  any  men 
should  dare  to  ask  a  just  God's  assistance  in 
wringing  their  bread  from  the  sweat  of  other  men's 
faces.  But  let  us  judge  not,  that  we  be  not 
judged.  The  prayer  of  both  could  not  be  an 
swered  ;  that  of  neither  has  been  answered  fully. 
If  we  shall  suppose  that  American  slavery  is  one 
of  those  offences  which,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
must  needs  come,  but  which,  having  continued 
through  his  appointed  time,  he  now  wills  to  re 
move,  and  that  he  gives  to  both  North  and  South 
this  terrible  war  as  the  woe  due  to  those  by  whom 
the  offence  came,  shall  we  discern  therein  any 
departure  from  those  divine  attributes  which  the 
believers  in  a  loving  God  always  ascribe  to  him  ? 
Fondly  do  we  hope,  fervently  do  we  pray,  that 
this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  speedily  pass 
away.  Yet  if  God  wills  that  it  continue  until  all 


1865.  HIS    LAST    DAYS.  529 

the  wealth  piled  by  the  bondman's  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk, 
and 'until  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  with  the  lash 
shall  be  paid  by  another  drawn  with  the  sword,  as 
was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so  still  it  must 
be  said,  '  The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and 
righteous  altogether.'  With  malice  toward  none, 
with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness  in  the  right  as 
God  gives  us  to  seethe  right,  let  us  strive  to  finish 
the  work  we  are  in,  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds, 
to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle, 
and  for  his  widow  and  his  orphan,  to  do  all  which 
may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  a  lasting  peace 
among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations." 

A  day  or  two  after  the  evacuation  of  Richmond, 
Mr.,  Lincoln  walked  through  its  smoking  and  dis 
ordered  streets,  where  the  negroes  crowded  about 
him  and  called  down  all  sorts  of  uncouth  but 
sincere  blessings  on  his  head.  He  had  lived  to 
enter  the  enemy's  capital,  lived  to  see  the  author 
ity  of  the  United  States  restored  over  the  whole 
country,  and  then  was  snatched  away,  when  the 
people  were  as  much  as  ever  in  need  of  his  genius 
for  the  solution  of  new  problems  that  suddenly 
confronted  them. 

The  funeral  train  retraced  the  same  route  over 
which  Mr.  Lincoln  had  gone  to  Washington  from 
his  home  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  four  years  before, 
and  to  the  sorrowful  crowds  that  were  gathered  at 
every  station,  and  even  along  the  track  in  the 
country,  it  seemed  as  if  the  light  of  the  nation  had 
gone  out  forever. 


53O  THE   GRAND    REVIEW.  [1865. 

The  armies  returning  from  the  field  were 
brought  to  Washington  for  a  grand  review  before 
being  mustered  out  of  service.  The  city  was 
decorated  with  flags,  mottoes,  and  floral  designs, 
and  the  streets  were  thronged  with  people,  many 
of  whom  carried  wreaths  and  bouquets.  The 
Army  of  the  Potomac  was  reviewed  on  May  23, 
and  Sherman's  army  on  the  24th,  the  troops  march 
ing  in  close  column  around  the  Capitol  and  down 
Pennsylvania  Avenue  to  the  music  of  their  bands. 
As  they  passed  the  grand  stand  at  the  White 
House,  where  President  Johnson  and  his  Cabinet 
reviewed  them,  the  officers  saluted  with  their 
swords,  and  commanders  of  divisions  dismounted 
and  went  upon  the  stand. 

The  armies  were  quickly  disbanded,  and  each 
regiment,  on  its  arrival  home,  was  given  a  public 
reception  and  a  fitting  welcome.  The  men  were 
well  dressed  and  well  fed,  but  their  bronzed  faces 
and  their  tattered  and  smoky  battle-flags  told 
where  they  had  been.  It  was  computed  that  the 
loss  of  life  in  the  Confederate  service  was  about 
equal  to  that  in  the  National.  Their  losses  in 
battle,  as  they  were  generally  on  the  defensive, 
were  smaller,  but  their  means  of  caring  for  the 
wounded  were  inferior.  Thus  it  cost  us  nearly  six 
hundred  thousand  lives  and  more  than  six  thousand 
million  dollars  to  destroy  the  doctrine  of  State 
sovereignty,  abolish  the  system  of  slavery,  and 
begin  the  career  of  the  United  States  as  a  nation. 

The  home-coming  at  the  North  was  almost  as 
sorrowful  as  at  the  South,  because  of  those  that 


1865.]  THE    HOME-COMING.  531 

came  not.  In  all  the  festivities  and  rejoicings  there 
was  hardly  a  participator  whose  joy  was  not  sad 
dened  by  missing  some  well-known  face  and  form 
now  numbered  with  the  silent  three  hundred  thous 
and.  Grant  was  there,  the  commander  that  had 
never  taken  a  step  backward ;  and  Farragut  was 
there,  the-sailor  without  an  equal ;  and  the  unfailing 
Sherman,  and  the  patient  Thomas,  and  the  intrepid 
Hancock,  and  the  fiery  Sheridan,  and  the  brilliant 
Custer,  and  many  of  lesser  rank,  who  in  a  smaller 
theatre  of  conflict  would  have  won  a  larger  fame. 
But  where  was  young  Ellsworth  ?  Shot  dead  as 
soon  as  he  crossed  the  Potomac.  And  Winthrop 
—  killed  in  the  first  battle,  with  his  best  books 
unwritten.  And  Lyon  —  fallen  at  the  head  of  his 
little  army  in  Missouri,  the  first  summer  of  the 
war.  And  Baker  —  sacrificed  at  Ball's  Bluff.  And 
Kearny  at  Chantilly,  and  Reno  at  South  Mountain, 
and  Mansfield  at  Antietam,  and  Reynolds  at  Get 
tysburg,  and  Wadsworth  in  the  Wilderness,  and 
Sedgwick  at  Spottsylvania,  and  McPherson  before 
Atlanta,  and  Craven  in  his  monitor  at  the  bot 
tom  of  the  sea,  and  thousands  of  others,  the  best 
and  bravest,  all  gone  —  all,  like  Latour,  the  immor 
tal  captain,  dead  on  the  field  of  honor,  but  none  the 
less  dead  and  a  loss  to  their  mourning  country. 
The  hackneyed  allegory  of  Curtius  had  been  given 
a  startling  illustration  and  a  new  significance.  The 
South,  too,  had  lost  heavily  of  her  foremost  citizens 
in  the  great  struggle  —  Bee  and  Bartow  at  Bull 
Run  ;  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  leading  a  desperate 
charge  at  Shiloh  ;  Zollicoffer,  soldier  and  jour- 


532  LESSONS   OF    THE    WAR. 

nalist,  at  Mill  Spring;  Stonewall  Jackson,  Lee's 
right  arm,  at  Chancellorsville ;  Polk,  priest  and 
warrior,  at  Lost  Mountain  ;  Armistead,  wavering 
between  two  allegiances  and  fighting  alternately 
for  each,  and  Barksdale  and  Garnett  —  all  at  Get 
tysburg  ;  Hill  at  Petersburg ;  and  the  dashing 
Stuart,  and  Daniel,  and  Perrin,  and  Bearing,  and 
Doles,  and  numberless  others.  The  sudden  hush 
and  sense  of  awe  that  impresses  a  child  when  he 
steps  upon  a  single  grave,  may  well  overcome  the 
strongest  man  when  he  looks  upon  the  face  of  his 
country  scarred  with  battle-fields  like  these,  and  con 
siders  what  blood  of  manhood  was  rudely  wasted 
there.  And  the  slain  were  mostly  young,  unmar 
ried  men,  whose  native  virtues  fill  no  living  veins, 
and  will  not  shine  again  on  any  field. 

It  is  poor  business  measuring  the  mouldered 
ramparts  and  counting  the  silent  guns,  marking 
the  deserted  battle-fields  and  decorating  the  grassy 
graves,  unless  we  can  learn  from  it  all  some  nobler 
lesson  than  to  destroy.  Men  write  of  this  as  of 
other  wars  as  if  the  only  thing  necessary  to  be 
impressed  upon  the  rising  generation  were  the 
virtue  of  physical  courage  and  contempt  of  death. 
It  seems  to  me  that  is  the  last  thing  that  we  need 
to  teach;  for  since  the  days  of  John  Smith  in 
Virginia  and  the  men  of  the  "  Mayflower"  in  Mas 
sachusetts,  no  generation  of  Americans  has  shown 
any  lack  of  it.  From  Louisburg  to  Petersburg  — 
a  hundred  and  twenty  years,  the  full  span  of  four 
generations  —  they  have  stood  to  their  guns  and 
been  shot  down  in  greater  comparative  numbers 


LESSONS   OF    THE    WAR.  533 

than    any  other  race  on    earth.     In    the  War  of 
Secession  there  was  not  a  State,  not  a  county, 
probably  not  a  town,  between  the  great  lakes  and 
the  Gulf,  that  was  not  represented  on  fields  where 
all  that  men  could  do  with  powder  and  steel  was 
done,  and  valor  was  exhibited  at  its  Jiighest  pitch. 
It  was  a   common    saying    in    the   Army  of   the 
Potomac   that  courage   was    the   cheapest   thing 
there  ;  and  it  might  have  been  said  of  all  the  other 
armies  as  well.     There  is  not  the  slightest  neces 
sity  for  lauding  American  bravery  or   impressing 
it  upon  American  youth.     But  there  is  the  gravest 
necessity  for  teaching  them  respect  for  law,  and 
reverence  for  human  life,  and  regard  for  the  rights 
of  their  fellow-men,  and  all  that  is  significant  in 
the  history  of  our  country — lest  their  feet  run  to 
evil  and  they  make  haste  to  shed  innocent  blood. 
I  would  be  glad  to  convince  my  compatriots  that 
it  is  not  enough  to  think  they  are  right,  but  they 
are  bound   to  know  they  are  right,  before  they 
rush  into  any  experiments  that  are  to  cost  the  lives 
of  men  and  the  tears  of  orphans,  in  their  own  land 
or  in  any  other.     I  would  warn  them  to  beware 
of  provincial  conceit.     I  would  have  them  compre 
hend  that  one  may  fight  bravely,  and  still  be  a  per 
jured  felon  ;  that  one  may  die  humbly,  and  still  be 
a  patriot  whom  his  country  cannot  afford  to  lose; 
that  as  might  does  not  make  right,  so  neither  do 
rags  and  bare  feet  necessarily  argue  a  noble  cause. 
I  would  teach  them  that  it  is  criminal  either  to 
hide  the  truth  or  to  refuse  assent  to  that  which 
they  see  must   follow  logically  from  ascertained 


534  LESSONS    OF    THE    WAR. 

truth.  I  would  show  them  that  a  political  lie  is  as 
despicable  as  a  personal  lie,  whether  uttered  in  an 
editorial,  or  a  platform,  or  a  president's  message, 
or  a  colored  cartoon,  or  a  disingenuous  ballot ; 
and  that  political  chicanery,  when  long  persisted 
in,  is  liable  to.  settle  its  shameful  account  in  a  stop 
page  of  civilization  and  a  spilling  of  life.  These 
are  simple  lessons,  yet  they  are  not  taught  in  a 
day,  and  some  whom  we  call  educated  go  through 
life  without  mastering  them  at  all. 

It  may  be  useful  to  learn  from  one  war  how  to 
conduct  another ;  but  it  is  infinitely  better  to 
learn  how  to  avert  another.  I  am  doubly  anxious 
to  impress  this  consideration  upon  my  readers, 
because  history  seems  to  show  us  that  armed  con 
flicts  have  a  tendency  to  come  in  pairs,  with  an 
interval  of  a  few  years,  and  because  I  think  I  see, 
in  certain  circumstances  now  existing  within  our 
beloved  Republic,  the  elements  of  a  second  civil 
war.  No  American  citizen  should  lightly  repeat 
that  the  result  is  worth  all  it  cost,  unless  he  has 
considered  how  heavy  was  the  cost,  and  is  doing 
his  utmost  to  perpetuate  the  result.  To  strive  to 
forget  the  great  war,  for  the  sake  of  sentimental 
politics,  is  to  cast  away  our  dearest  experience 
and  invite,  in  some  troubled  future,  the  destruction 
we  so  hardly  escaped  in  the  past.  There  can  be 
remembrance  without  animosity,  but  there  can  not 
be  oblivion  without  peril. 


INDEX. 


Acton,  Thomas  C.,  in  the  New 
York  riots,  300 

Adams,  Charles  Francis,  U.  S. 
minister  at  London,  404 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  action  on 
mutilated  census,  13;  quoted 
on  the  slavery  question,  206 

Adams,  Nehemiah,  on  slavery,  12 

Alabama  secedes,  36 

Alabama,  the,  her  career,  400- 
403  ;  Sec.  Seward's  argument 
concerning,  407 

Albemarle,  the,  iron-clad  ram,  de 
stroyed,  442 

Alclie,  cavalry  fight  at,  252 

Allatoona,  defence  of,  491 

Allen's  Farm,  action  at,  166 

American  party,  the,  21 

Anderson,  Galusha,  service  in 
Missouri,  77 

Anderson,  Gen.  G.  T.,  wounded, 
267 

Anderson,  Gen.  Robert,  at  Forts 
Moultrie  and  Sumter,  38-40 ; 
commands  in  Kentucky,  80 

Anderson,  Gen.  R.  H.,  his  night 
march,  378 

Andersonville  prison,  343-346 ; 
the  keeper  executed,  525 

Andrew,  Gov.  John  A,,  521 

Anthony,  Col.  Daniel  R.,  refuses 
to  return  slaves,  211 

Antietam  campaign,  the,  185,  et 
seq.  ;  battle  of  the,  194,  et  seq. 

Anti-slavery  work,  6,  et  seq. 

Appomattox  Court  House,  sur 
render  at,  518 

Arbitration,  international,  412 

Archer,  Gen.,  at  Gettysburg,  256 

Arkansas,  secession  of,  46 

Arkansas,  the,  iron-clad  ram,  de 
stroyed,  272 


Arkansas  Post,  capture  of,  277 
Arlington  Heights,   occupied,  55 
Armistead,  Gen.  Lewis  A.,  killed, 

266 
Asboth,  Gen.  A.  S.,  at  Pea  Ridge, 

1 08 
Atlanta  campaign,  the,  418-437  ; 

battles    around  the    city,  433, 

434 ;    fall  of,  437  ;  inhabitants 

sent   away,    488 ;    shops     and 

depots  destroyed,  493 
Atlanta,  the,  iron-clad,  captured, 

3ii»  312 
Augur,  Gen.  C.  C.,  in  defence  of 

Washington,  453 
Averell,    Gen.    William    W.,    at 

Winchester,  454 ;  at  the  Ope- 

quan,  462 
Averysboro,  battle  of,  509 

Bailey,  Lieut-Col.  Joseph,  his 
Red  River  dam,  417 

Bailey,  Capt.  Theodoras,  at  New 
Orleans,  120,  123 

Baker,  Col.  Edward  D.,  men 
tioned,  530 

Baldwin,  Judge,  quoted,  334 

Baltimore,  riot  in,  53 

Banking  system,  national,  485 

Banks,  Gen.  N.  P.,  173;  attacks 
Jackson  at  Cedar  Mountain, 
176  ;  receives  the  surrender  of 
Port  Hudson,  288  ;  his  Shreve- 
port  expedition,  415-418 

Barksdale,  Gen.  Wm.,  killed,  269 

Barlow,  Arabella  G.,  hospital 
services,  361 

Barlow,  C.  J.,  quoted,  339 

Barlow,  Gen.  Francis  C.,  361  ;  at 
Spottsylvania,  380 ;  at  the  To- 
topotomoy,  393  ;  at  Cold  Har 
bor,  395 


536 


INDEX. 


Barnes,  Gen.  James,  wounded, 
267 

Barren,  Samuel,  at  Hatteras,  93 

Barry,  Major  Wm.  F.,  at  Bull 
Run,  66 

Barton,  Clara,  hospital  services, 
361 

Bartow,  Col.,  killed,  68 

Bastiles,  talk  of,  292 

Baxter,  Gen.  Henry,  at  Gettys 
burg,  258;  wounded,  375 

Beauregard,  Gen.G.  T.,  bombards 
Fort  Sumter,  39,  40;  in  com 
mand  at  Manassas  Junction,  59 ; 
at-Shiloh,  135,  et  seq.\  suc 
ceeded  by  Bragg,  230 ;  calls  for 
execution  of  prisoners  and  pro 
clamation  of  the  black  flag, 
239;  in  command  at  Charles 
ton,  308,  et  seq.  ;  in  defence  of 
Petersburg,  443,  et  seq. 

Beaver  Dam  Creek,  action  at,  163 

Bee,  Gen.  Bernard  E.,  at  Bull 
Run,  64  ;  killed,  65 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  addresses 
in  England,  88 

Bell,  John,  nominated  for  Presi 
dent,  35 

Bellows,  Henry  W.,  organizes  the 
Sanitary  Commission,  352 

Bennett,  officer,  in  New  York 
riot,  301 

Benning,  Gen.,  wounded,  375 

Bentonville,  battle  of,  510 

Bethesda  Church,  action  at,  393 

Big  Bethel,  action  at,  56 

Birney,  Gen.  David  B.,  at  the 
second  Bull  Run,  183 ;  at 
Fredericksburg,  227;  at  Gettys 
burg,  261,  269;  at  Spottsyf- 
vania,  389 ;  commands  the 
Second  Corps,  445 

Bissell,  Col.  Josiah  W.,  constructs 
a  canal,  134 

Blackburn's  Ford,  action  at,  62 

Black  flag  displayed,  336  ;  advo 
cated  by  Beauregard,  239; 
by  Stonewall  Jackson,  337 

Blair,  Gen.  Francis  P.,  Jr.,  his 
patriotic  efforts  in  Missouri, 
74 ;  in  Vicksburg  campaign, 
276,  ct  seq. 

Blair,  Rev,  Mr.,  murdered,  336 


Blenker,  Gen.  Louis,  152 

Blockade,  the,  90 

Blockade-runners,  308 

Bloodhounds,  used  for  tracking 
prisoners,  346 ;  killed  by  Sher 
man's  men,  497 

Blount's   Farm,  action  at,  320 

Bonds,  issue  of,  483  et  seq. 

Booneville,  Mo.,  action  at,  76 

Booth,  Major  L.  F.,  killed,  340 

Botanist,  imprisonment  of  a,  13 

Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  occupied  by 
national  forces,  102 

Bradford,  Major  W.  F.,  murdered, 
341 

Bradley,  Amy,  hospital  services, 
361 

Bragg,  Gen.  Braxton,  at  Shiloh, 
135;  takes  command  in  the 
west,  230 ;  at  Stone  River,  235  ; 
in  Chickamauga  campaign,  323 
-329  ;  defeated  by  Grant,  331- 
333  ;  superseded,  333 

Brandy  Station,  cavalry  engage 
ment  at,  250 

Breckinridge,  Gen.  John  C,  nomi 
nated  for  President,  35  ;  enters 
the  Confederate  service,  80 ;  at 
Stone  River,  237;  attacks  Baton 
Rouge,  271 

Breckinridge,  Robert  J.,  opposes 
secession,  79 

Bright,  John,  friendly  to  the 
United  States,  88 

Bristoe  Station,  action  at,  179 

Brooke,  Gen.  John  R.,  wounded, 
267,  396 

Brough,  John,  elected  Governor 
of  Ohio,  306 

Brown,  B.  Gratz,  service  in  Mis 
souri,  77 

Brown,  John,  his  raid,  15 

Brown,  Gov.  Joseph  E.,  at  odds 
with  Jefferson  Davis,  489 

Brownlow,  William  G.,  on  slavery, 
12  ;  opposes  secession,  83 

Buchanan,  Capt.  Franklin,  com 
mands  the  Merrimac,  128; 
wounded  at  Mobile,  441 

Buchanan,  James,  vetoes  the 
Homestead  bill,  18  ;  elected 
President,  24 ;  his  paradox,  38  ; 
comes  out  for  the  Union,  51 


INDEX. 


537 


Buckhannon,  action  at,  84 
Buckingham,  Gov.  Wm.  A.,  521 
Buckner,    Gen.    S.    B.,    at    Fort 

Donelson,  102 

Buell,  Gen.  Don  Carlos,  at  Shi- 
loh,  136,  et  seg.',    fights  Bragg 
at  Perry ville,  231 
Buffington's    Ford,   engagement 

at,  321,  322 

Buford,    Gen.   John,   given  com 
mand  in  Virginia, 175;  at  Brandy 
Station,  250;     at   Gettysburg, 
254,  et  seg. 
Bull   Run,   first  battle  of,  59,  et 

seg.;  second,  180,  et  seg. 
Bummers,  Sherman's,  497 
Burke,  Edmund,  quoted,  296 
Burns,  Anthony,    rendition,  19 
Burns,  John,  at  Gettysburg,  268 
Burnside,    Gen.  Ambrose   E.,  at 
Bull  Run,  60  ;  at  South  Moun 
tain,    190;     at    the   Antietam, 
196;    appointed    to    command 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  221  ; 
his  career,  221;  his  Fredericks- 
burg  campaign,  222,  et  seg.;  at 
Knoxville,    331,    333;     in   the 
overland  campaign, 367,  et  seg.\ 
at  crater,  449  ;  relieved,  449 
Butler,  Gen.   Benjamin  F.,  takes 
a  regiment  to  Washington,  54  ; 
in  Maryland,  81  ;    in    Hatteras 
expedition,    92  ;    at    New   Or 
leans,    114,  ef  seg.\    refuses   to 
return   slaves,  207  ;  proclaimed 
an  outlaw,  239  ;    commanding 
Army  of  the  James,  443,  et  seg. 
Butterfield,  Gen.  Daniel,  wound 
ed,  266 
Byrnes,  Col.,  killed,  396 

Calcium  lights  employed,  315 
Caldwell,  Lieut.  C.  H.  B.,  at  New 

Orleans,  119 

Calhoun,   John    C.,    quoted,    10; 
threatens  secession,  24;  teaches 
State   sovereignty,   34 
California,    contribution    to    the 

Sanitary  Commission,  358 
Cameron,  Col.  James,  killed,  68 
Cameron,    Simon,     resigns    sec 
retaryship  of  war,  150;  author 
izes  Sanitary  Commission,  353 


Campbell,  John  A.,  in  the  Hamp 
ton  Roads  conference,  510 
Canals,  at  Island  No.  10,  134  ;  at 

Vicksburg,  278,  279 
Carpenter,    Daniel,   in   the   New 

York  riots,  300,  301 
Carr,   Col.   Eugene   A.,    at    Pea 

Ridge,  1 08 

Carrick's  Ford,  action  at,  84 
Carroll,  Gen.  Samuel  S.,   at  Get 
tysburg,   263 ;    wounded,    375, 
388  ;    promoted,  388 
Carter,  L.,  murdered,  336 
Carthage,  Mo.,  action  at,  77 
Casey,  Gen.  Silas,  at  Fair  Oaks, 

156 
Cass,  Gen.  Lewis,  comes  out  for 

the  Union,  51 
Causes  of  the  war,  i 
Cavalry  service,  turning-point  in, 

250 

Cavander,  M.,  murdered,  336 
Cedar  Creek,  battle  of,  466 
Cedar  Mountain,  battle  of,  176 
Census   of   1840  tampered  with, 

12 

Chalmers,  Gen.,  at  Fort   Pillow, 

341 

Chamberlain,  Gen.  Joshua  L.,  at 
Gettysburg,  262 

Chambersburg,  Pa.,  reached  by 
Confederate  forces  in  1863, 
252  ;  burned,  454 

Champion's  Hill,  battle  of,  285 

Chancellorsville,  battle  of.  243 

Chantilly,  battle  of,  183 

Charles  City  Cross  Roads,  battle 
of,  167 

Charleston,  S.  C.,  siege  of,  307- 
317  ;  destruction  of  the  harbor, 
307;  bombarded,  317;  occu 
pied  by  National  forces,  508 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  his  manage 
ment  of  the  finances,  481,  et 
seg. 

Chatfield,  Col.,  killed,  314 

Chattanooga,  besieged  by  Bragg, 
329  ;  relieved  by  Grant,  330 

Cheraw,  captures  at,  508 

Cherokee  Indians,  atrocities  in 
North  Carolina,  339 

Chickamauga,  battle  of,  324-329 

Christian  Commission,  358-360 


533 


INDEX. 


Christy,  David,  his  book,  24 
Churches   divided  on  slavery,   14 
Churchill,  Gen.,  at  Arkansas  Post, 

278 

Civilians,  services  of,  521 
Clark,  Col.  J.  S.,  counts  Jackson's 

forces,  178 

Clarke,  Gen.,  killed,  272 
Clay,  Henry,  proposes  the  Mis 
souri  compromise,  16 
Clouds,  battle  above  the,  331 
Cobb,    Howell,    plots    secession, 

while  in  the  Cabinet,  38 
Coburn,  Col,  defeated,  319 
Cochrane,  Gen.  John,  nominated 

for  vice-president,  469 
Coffee-wagon,  Dunton's,  360 
Cogswell,  Col.  L.  W.,  quoted,  385 
Cold  Harbor,  first  battle  of,  165  ; 

second  battle  of,  394-396 
Colored  troops,  enlistment  of, 
230-238 ;  Confederate  procla 
mation  concerning,  239 ;  Lin 
coln's  retaliatory  proclamation, 
241 

Columbia,  Ky.,  captured  by  Mor 
gan,  321 
Columbia,    S.    C.,    captured     by 

Sherman,  507 
Colyer,    Vincent,   originates    the 

Christian  Commission,  359 
Comparison  with  actions  in  pre 
vious  wars,  321 
Concentration,  the  natural  result 

of  civilization,  32 
Concord,  N.  H.,  pro-slavery  mob 

in,  7  ;  riot  in,  339 
Confederacy,   formation    of    the, 
36 ;    Government,  removed  to 
Richmond,  58 
Confiscation  of  slaves,  208 
Congress,  the,  destroyed,  129 
Conscription,  Confederate,  230 
Constitution,  U.  S.,  opposed,  34 
Contraband,  the  term,  208 
Cooper,  Capt.,  commanding  bat 
tery,  1 68 
Copperheads,  51 
Corcoran,  Col.  Michael,  captured, 

68 

Corinth,  Miss.,  importance  of, 
135  ;  siege  and  capture  of,  143  ; 
battle  of,  233 


Corse,   Gen.   John    M.,    defends 

Allatoona,  491 
Cost  of  the  war,  487 
Cotton-gin,  invention  of,  3 
Cotton  is  king,  24 
Counting  troops,  the  two  methods 

of,  159,  368 

Courier,  Louisville,  quoted,  70 
Cox,  Rev.  Henry,  quoted,  70 
Cox,  Samuel  S.,  quoted,  240 
Crampton's  Gap,  190 
Crater,  by  mine  explosion,  449. 
Craven,  Capt.  T.  A.  M.,  in  battle 

of  Mobile  Bay,  440,  442 
Crawford,  Gen.    Samuel   W.,    at 

Spottsylvania,  389 
Crittenden,    Gen.  George   B.,    at 

Mill  Springs,  98 
Crittenden,   Gen.  Thomas   L.,  at 

Chickamauga,  325,  ct  seq. 
Crocker,    Gen.  Marcellus  M.,  in 

Vicksburg  campaign,  283 
Crook,  Gen.  George,  defeated  by 

Early,    454 ;    at    Fisher's    Hill, 

464  ;  at  Cedar  Creek,  466 
Cross,  Col.  Edward  E.,  killed,  262 
Cruisers,  Confederate,  400,  et  seq. 
Cumberland,  destruction   of  the, 

128 
Curtis,  Gen.    Samuel  R.,  at  Pea 

Ridge,  107 
Cushing,    Lieut.     Alonzo   H.,  at 

Gettysburg,  269 
Cushing,  Lieut.  Wm.  B.,  destroys 

the  Albemarle,  442 
Custer,     Gen.      George    A.,     at 

Hawes's    Shop,    392 ;    narrow 

escape    of    his    division,    459; 

defeats  Early  at  Waynesboro, 

511  ;    his    captures  at    Sailor's 

Creek,  518 

Dahlgren,  Admiral  John  A., 
bombards  Fort  Wagner,  312 

Dam  in  Red  River,  Bailey's,  417 

Daniel,  Gen.,  killed,  388 

Davis,  Capt.  Charles  H.,  at  Vicks 
burg,  271 

Davis,  Col.,  at  Harper's  Ferry, 
189 

Davis,  Col.  B.  F.,  killed,  250 

Davis,  Jefferson,  on  the  slave- 
trade,  21  ;  chosen  President  of 


INDEX. 


539 


the  Confederacy,  36 ;  at  Bull 
Run,  67  ;  at  Murfreesboro,  235  ; 
proclaims  Gen.  Butler  an  out 
law,  239;  at  odds  with  Gen. 
Johnston  and  Gov.  Brown,  489 ; 
leaves  Richmond,  515;  captur 
ed,  523  ;  bailed,  523 
Davis,  Gen.  Jefferson  C.,  at  Pea 

Ridge,  1 08  ;  at  Atlanta,  434 
Day's  Gap,  engagement  at,  320 
Dearing,  Gen.  James,  mentioned, 

532 

Death-angle,  the,  381-385 

Debts,  due  from  Southern  men 
to  Northern,  30 

Deep  Bottom,  fighting  at,  448,450 

Democratic  party,  becomes  the 
pro-slavery  party,  21  ;  divided 
by  the  slavery  question,  35 

Demosthenes  quoted,  185 

Dennison,  Gov.  William,  521 

Despotism  in  America,  8 

Dew,  Thomas  R.,  his  pamphlet 
on  slavery,  1 1 

Dickinson,  Daniel  S.,  proposed 
for  Vice-president,  471 

Dix,  Dorothea  L.,  hospital  servi 
ces,  361 

Dix,  Gen.  John  A.,  his  patriotic 
order,  50 

Dog  Spring,  Mo.,  action  at,  78 

Doles,  Gen.  George  P.,  killed,  396 

Donaldsonville  destroyed,  275 

Doubleday,  Gen.  Abner,  at  Fred- 
ericksburg,  227 ;  at  Gettys 
burg,  256,  et  seq. ;  quoted,  263  ; 
wounded,  266 

Douglas,  Rev.  Mr.,  murdered,  336 

Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  on  slavery, 
21 ;  advocates  popular  sover 
eignty,  22 ;  nominated  for 
President,  35  ;  supports  Lin 
coln's  administration,  51 

Douglass,  Frederick,  edits  the 
North  Star,  6 

Draft  riots,  290-306 

Draytons,  the  two,  95 

Dred  Scott,  case  of,  20 

Duncan,  Gen.  Johnson  K.,  com 
mands  the  defences  of  New 
Orleans,  113 

Dunton,  Jacob,  invents  a  coffee- 
wagon,  360 


Du  Pont,  Flag-officer  S.  F.,  in 
Port  Royal  expedition,  94  ;  at 
tacks  Charleston,  309 

Early,  Gen.  Jubal  A.,  sent  to  the 
Shenandoah  valley,  452  ;  threat 
ens  Washington,  453  ;  burns 
Chambersburg,  454;  in  the 
Shenandoah  campaign,  458- 
467;  at  Waynesboro,  511. 

Election,  presidential,  468  et  seq. 

Ellis,  John  \V.,  action  as  Gover 
nor  of  North  Carolina,  82 

Ellsworth,  Ephraim  E.,  teaches 
zouave  drill,  52  ;  recruits  a  reg 
iment,  55  ;  killed,  56 

Ely,  Alfred,  at  Bull  Run,  61,  68 

Emancipation,   200,  et  seq. 

English  sentiment  in  regard  to 
the  war,  87 

Ericsson,  John,  builds  the  Moni 
tor,  130 

Everett,  Edward,  on  slavery,  11 

Ewell,  Gen.  Richard  S.,  wound 
ed,  179;  in  Gettysburg  cam 
paign,  250,  et  seq. ;  defeats 
Milroy  at  Winchester,  251  ;  in 
the  overland  campaign,  368,  et 
seq. ;  quoted,  399 ;  captured 
with  his  corps,  518 


Fair  Oaks,  battle  of,  156 
Farragut,  Admiral  David  G.,  his 
loyalty,      46;     captures     New 
Orleans,  114,  et  seq.\  at  Vicks- 
burg,    271  ;    destroys    Donald 
sonville,  275  ;  runs  by  the  bat 
teries  at  Port  Hudson,  281  ;  his 
battle  in  Mobile  Bay,  438,  et  seq. 
Fifty-four-forty  or  fight,  17 
Fillmore,  Millard,  signs  the  com 
promise  measures,  18 
Finances,  the  national,  481-487 
Finley,  Clement  A.,  opposes  the 

Sanitary  Commission,  353 
Finnegan,  Gen.,  wounded,  396 
Fisher's  Hill,  engagement  at,  463 
Fishing  Creek  (or  Mill  Springs), 

battle  of,  98 

Fisk,  Clinton  B.,  service  in  Mis 
souri,  77 

Five  Forks,  battle  of,  514 
Flag,  the  American,  Gen.   Dix's 


540 


INDEX. 


order  concerning,  50  ;  dancing 
on,  235 

Fleetwood,  battle  of,  250 
Florida  secedes,  36 
Florida,  the,  captured,  403 
Floyd,  John  B.,  plots  secession, 
while  in    the    Cabinet,  38 ;  at 
Fort  Donelson,  103 
Foote,  Flag-officer  A.  H.,  at  Fort 
Henry,  101;  at  Island  No.  10,  134 
Forrest,  Gen.  N.  B.,  at  Fort  Don 
elson,    105  ;    at  Holly  Springs, 
273;  attacks  Dover,   319;    de 
feated  by   Streight,  320 ;    cap 
tures  Fort  Pillow,  340,  et  seq. ; 
defeats  Smith,  415 
Fort  de  Russey,  captured,  416 
Fort  Donelson,    investment  and 

capture  of,  102,  et  seq. 
Fort  Fisher,  capture  of,  508 
Fort  Henry,  capture  of,  101 
Fort  Hindman,  capture  of,  277 
Fortifications,  construction  of,  427 
Fort  McAllister,  captured,  498 
Fort  Pillow,  massacre  at,  340 
Fort  Sumter,  investment  and  cap 
ture  of,  38-40 
Fort    Wagner,     assaulted,    313; 

evacuated,  315 
Forty  thieves,  the,  338 
Foster,   Gen.  John  G.,  at    Deep 
Bottom,  448  ;  at  Savannah,  504 
Foster,  Gen.  Robert  S.,  captures 

Fort  Gregg,  515 
Fractional  currency,  486 
Franklin,  battle  of,  500 
Franklin,  Gen.    Win.   B.,  in  the 
Peninsula  campaign,    154;     at 
the  second    Bull  Run,   182  ;  at 
South    Mountain,   190;   at  the 
Antietam,  196;  in  the  Freder- 
icksburg  campaign,  223,  et  seq. 
Frazier's  Farm,  battle  of,  168 
Fredericksburg,    battle   of,     223, 

et  seq. 

Fremont,  John  C.,  candidate  for 
President,  23 ;  in  command  in 
Missouri,  107  ;  declines  to  serve 
under  Pope,  173  ;  attempts  to 
emancipate  slaves  in  Missouri, 
209  ;  nominated  for  president, 
469  ;  withdraws,  474 
French,  Gen.  W7illiam  H.,  at 


Fredericksburg,  227 ;  at  Har 
per's  Ferry,  252 

Fry,  Col.  Speed  S.,at  Mill  Springs, 
98 

Fugitive-slave  advertisements,  7 

Gaines's  Mills,  battle  of,  164 

Gamble,  Hamilton  R.,  provisional 
governor  of  Missouri,  77 

Garfield,  Gen.  James  A.,  defeats 
Marshall  at  Paintville,  97 ;  at 
Chickamauga,  328 

Garland,  Gen.  Samuel,  killed,  190 

Garnett,  Gen.  R.   B.,  killed,  267 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  estab 
lishes  the  Liberator,  6 

Gay,  Sydney  Howard,  edits  the 
Anti-slavery  Standard,  6 

Geary,  Gen.  John  W.,  occupies 
Savannah,  499 

Georgia  secedes,  36  ;  hopes  of 
her  secession  from  the  Confed 
eracy,  489 

Gerdes,  Lieut.  F.  H.,  service  at 
New  Orleans,  117 

Getty,  Gen.  George  W.,  wounded, 

375 

Gettysburg  campaign,  248,  et  seq. 
Gibbon,    Gen.    John,    at    South 
Mountain,  190;   at  Fredericks 
burg,  227  ;    wounded,  266  ;  at 
Reams  Station,  450 
Gilchrist,  of  Alabama,  quoted,  43 
Gillmore,  Gen.    Quincy    A.,  be 
sieges  Charleston,  312,  etseq. 
Gilmore,  James  R.,  his  peace  mis 
sion,  468 

Gladden,  Gen.  A.  H.,  killed,  139 
Glazier,  Capt.  W.,  quoted,  317 
Glenclale,  battle  of,  16.8 
Goodwin,  Gen.,  killed,  462 
Gold  quotations,  486 
Golden  Circle,  the,  24 
Goodyear,  W.,  quoted,  479 
Gordon,  Gen.  John  B.,  at  Peters 
burg,  512 

Gosport  navy- yard  burned,  54 
Govan's  brigade  captured,  437 
Governors,  war,  521 
Granger,    Gen.    Gordon,  defeats 
Van  Dorn,  319  ;  at  Chickamau 
ga,  328  ;  at  Mobile,  439 
Grant,  Gen.  Ulysses  S.,  quoted, 


INDEX. 


541 


67  ;  in  Fort  Donelson  campaign, 
99,  et  seq.\  Shiloh,  \^,et  seq.\ 
his  judgment  on  the  Fitz-John 
Porter  dispute,  184;  placed  in 
command  of  the  department  of 
the  Mississippi,  272  ;  makes  the 
Vicksburg  campaign,  272-289; 
in  command  at  Chattanooga, 
329 ;  aids  the  Christian  Com 
mission,  360 ;  his  overland  cam 
paign,  362,  et  seq.\  made  lieu 
tenant-general,  365  ;  his  cam 
paign  against  Petersburg,  443, 
et  seq.;  sends  Sheridan  to  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  456 ;  his 
judgment  on  Cold  Harbor,  396  ; 
final  assaults  on  Petersburg, 
512-515;  pursuit  of  Lee,  516- 
518;  receives  his  surrender,  519 

Greble,  Lieut.  John  T.,  killed,  56 

Greeley,  Horace,  correspondence 
with  President  Lincoln,  212; 
in  the  Niagara  Falls  conference, 
469 ;  signs  Mr.  Davis's  bail- 
bond,  523 

Greene,  Lieut.  Samuel  D.,  com 
mands  the  Monitor,  131 

Gregg,  Gen.  David  M.,  at  Brandy 
Station,  250;  at  Hawes's  Shop, 

392 
Grierson,  Col.  Benjamin  H.,  his 

raid  in  Mississippi,  282 
Griffin,    Capt.    Charles,   at   Bull 

Run,  66 

Groveton,  battle  of,  179 
Guerillas,  in  Missouri,  106 
Gunboats  on  western  rivers,  loo 

Haines,  Alanson  A.,  quoted,  386 
Hall,  Col.,  defeats  Morgan,  320 
Hall,  Dr.,  mentioned,  386 
Halleck,  Gen.  Henry  W.,  in  com 
mand  in  Missouri,  99,  107 ;  be 
sieges     Corinth,     143 ;     made 
General-in-Chief,      174 ;      and 
passim 

Halltown,  Sheridan  at,  459 
Hamilton,    Alexander,     on     the 

Constitution,  15 
Hamilton,      Gen.     Andrew      J., 

quoted,   334  ;    in   Texas,  335 
Hamilton,    Gen.    Schuyler,    sug 
gests  a  canal,  134 


Hamlin,  Hannibal,  vice-president, 

471 

Hampton,  Col.,  killed,  250 

Hampton,  Gen.  Wade,  wounded, 
267  ;  sent  to  assist  Wheeler,  506 

Hampton  Roads  Conference,  the, 
5io,  511 

Hancock,  Gen.  Winfield  S.,  in  the 
Peninsula  campaign,  154,  et 
seq.\  at  Fredericksburg,  227; 
at  Gettysburg,  259,  et  seq.\ 
wounded,  266;  in  overland 
campaign,  367,  et  seq.\  meeting 
with  Gen.  Steuart,  383  ;  before 
Petersburg,  444,  et  seq.\  attacks 
at  Deep  Bottom,  450 

Hardee,  Gen.  William  J.,  at  Shi 
loh,  135  ;  evacuates  Savannah, 
498,  499 ;  evacuates  Charles 
ton,  508  ;  at  Averysboro,  509 

Harding,  Col.  A.  C.,  defends 
Dover,  319 

Harker,  Gen.  Charles  G.,  killed, 
428 

Harney,  Gen.  William  S.,  in  Mis 
souri,  75 

Harper's  Ferry,  arsenal  burned, 
54;  Johnston  and  Patterson 
successively  occupy,  59 ;  cap 
tured  by  Jackson,  188 

Harris,  Elisha,  connection  with 
the  Sanitary  Commission,  352  ; 
invents  a  hospital  car,  356 

Harris,  Isham  G.,  action  as  Gov 
ernor  of  Tennessee,  82 

Harsen,  Dr.,  connection  with  the 
Sanitary  Commission,  352 

Hatch,  Gen.  J.  P.,  in  Virginia,  175 

Hatteras  expedition,  the,  92 

Hatteras,  the,  sunk,  403 

Hawes's   Shop,   action   at,  392 

Hayne,  Robert  Y.,  quoted,  10 

Hayes,  Col.  Rutherford  B., 
wounded,  191 

Hays,  Gen.  Alexander,  at  the  An- 
tietam,  198  ;  killed,  375 

Hazen,  Gen.  William  B.,  captures 
Fort  McAllister,  498 

Hazlett,  Lieut.  Charles  E.,  killed, 
261 

Heintzelman,  Gen.  S.  P.,  at  Bull 
Run,  60 ;  in  Peninsula  cam 
paign,  150,  et  seq. 


542 


INDEX. 


Helper,  Hinton  R.,  his  Impending 
Crisis,  9 

Heth,  Gen.  Henry,  at  Reams 
Station,  450 

Hicks,  Thomas  H.,  action  as 
Governor  of  Maryland,  80 

Higher  law,  the,  15 

Hiklreth,  Richard,  his  Despotism 
in  America,  8 

Hill,  Gen.  Ambrose  P.,  service 
before  Richmond,  162,  et  seg.\ 
in  the  Antietam  campaign,  189, 
et  se.q.;  at  Chancellorsville,  246  ; 
in  Gettysburg  campaign,  250, 
et  seq.\  in  the  overland  cam 
paign,  368,  et  seg.\  in  fight  for 
the  Weldon  Railroad,  446  :  as 
saults  at  Reams  Station,  450  ; 
killed,  515 

Hill,  General  Daniel  H.,  service 
before  Richmond,  162,  et  seq.\ 
in  the  Antietam  campaign,  188, 
et  seg.]  quoted,  192 

Hillier,  case  of,  335 

Hilton  Head,  action  at,  95 

Hincks,  Gen.  Edward  W.,  before 
Petersburg,  445 

Hindman,  Gen.  T.  C.,  killed,  139 

Holden,  William  W.,  candidate  of 
peace  party,  489 

Hollins,  Com.  George  N.,  at  Is 
land  No.  10,  132 

Holly  Springs,  Miss.,  supply  de 
pot  destroyed,  273-274 

Hood,  Gen.  John  B.,  at  Gettys 
burg,  261  ;  in  Atlanta  cam 
paign,  423,  et  seg.',  supersedes 
Johnston,  430;  attacks  Sher 
man's  communications,  490  ; 
marches  on  Nashville,  499 ; 
fights  Schofield  at  Franklin, 
500  ;  defeated  by  Thomas,  501 

Hooker,  Gen.  Joseph,  in  the  Pen 
insula  campaign,  153,^  seq. ; 
in  the  second  Bull  Run  cam 
paign,  1 80,  et  seg. ;  at  South 
Mountain,  190;  at  the  Antie 
tam,  194;  wounded,  195;  in 
the  Fredericksburg  campaign, 
223,  et  seq.\  takes  command  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  241  ; 
Lincoln's  letter  to  him,  241  ;  at 
Chancellorsville,  243 ;  in  pur 


suit  of  Lee,  251  ;  resigns  com 
mand  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac,  253  ;  at  Lookout  Moun 
tain,  331  ;  in  Atlanta  cam 
paign,  422,  et  seg.\  relieved,  434 

Hospital-car,  invented,  356 

Hovey,  Gen.  Alvin  P.,  in  Vicks- 
burg  campaign,  285,  et  seq. 

Howard,  Gen.  Oliver  O.,  at  Bull 
Run,  60;  at  Chancellorsville, 
243 ;  at  Gettysburg,  256,  et 
seq.\  given  command  of  Army 
of  the  Tennessee,  434 ;  in  the 
march  to  the  sea,  494,  et  seq. 

Hughes,  Archbishop  John,  comes 
out  for  the  Union,  51 

Humphreys,  Gen.  Andrew  A.,  at 
Gettysburg,  261;  before  Peters 
burg,  515 

Hunt,  Gen.  Henry  J.,  at  Freder 
icksburg,  225  ;  at  Gettysburg, 
265 

Hunter,  Gen.  David,  at  Bull  Run, 

60  ;  wounded,  65  ;  attempts  to 

emancipate  slaves,  209;  organ- 

.  izes  black  troops,  210 ;  relieved, 

455 

Hunter,  R.  M.  T.,  in  Hampton 
Roads  conference,  511 

Hurlbut,  Gen.  Stephen  A.,  at 
Shiloh,  136,  et  seg,;  in  Vicks- 
burg  campaign,  278,  et  seq.;  in 
Meridian  campaign,  413 

Hutchinson  family,  forbidden  to 
sing  anti-slavery  songs,  203 

Imboden,  Gen.  J.  D.,  at  Gettys 
burg,  267 

Impending  Crisis,  Helper's,  9 

Indians,  in  Confederate  service, 
107,  109 

Ingraham,  Capt.  Duncan  N.,  in 
command  in  Charleston  harbor, 
308 

Insurrections,  of  slaves,  4,  5  J 
early  ones  in  the  United  States, 

52.5 

Irrepressible  conflict,  the,  15 
Island    No.    10,   capture  of,  132- 

135 

luka,  battle  of,  233 
Iverson,  Gen.  Alfred,  at  Gettys 
burg,  258 


INDEX. 


543 


Jackson,  Claiborne  F.,  Governor 
of  Missouri,  his  efforts  to  take 
the  State  out  of  the  Union,  71, 
et  seq. 

Jackson,  Gen.  James  S.,  killed, 
232 

Jackson,  Gen.  Thomas  J.,  re 
ceives  the  name  of  Stonewall, 
65 ;  defeated  at  Winchester, 
152;  movements  between 
Richmond  and  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  160,  et  seq.;  at  Cedar 
Mountain,  176;  at  Groveton, 
179  ;  captures  Harper's  Ferry, 
188;  at  the  Antietam,  194  ;  in 
the  Fredericksburg  campaign, 
222,  et  seq.;  at  Chancellorsville, 
243  ;  killed,  245  ;  advocates  the 
black  flag,  337 

Jackson,  Miss.,  captured,  284 

Jackson  Mississippian, quoted,  337 

Jacques,  Col.  J.  F.,  his  peace 
mission,  468 

Jenkins,  Gen.  Albert  G.f  wound 
ed,  267  ;  killed,  373 

Johnson,  Andrew,  opposes  seces 
sion,  83  ;  nominated  for  vice- 
president,  471  ;  at  the  grand 
review,  530 

Johnson,  Gen.  Bradley  T.,  in 
Maryland  raid,  454 

Johnson,  Gen.  E.,  captured,  383 

Johnson,  Reverdy,  patriotism,  81 

Johnston,  Gen.  Albert  Sidney,  at 
Corinth,  135;  at  battle  of  Shi- 
loh,  136,  et  seq  .\  killed,  139 

Johnston,  Gen.  Joseph  E.,  in  the 
Bull  Run  campaign,  59,  et  seq.; 
quoted,  63,  68 ;  in  command 
before  Richmond,  150  ;  wound 
ed,  157;  assumes  command  in 
Mississippi,  283 ;  supersedes 
Bragg,  333;  in  Atlanta  cam 
paign,  419,  et  seq.;  superseded 
by  Hood,  430 ;  reinstated,  505  ; 
opposes  Sherman  at  Averys- 
boro,  509;  at  Bentonville,  510; 
surrenders,  520. 

Johnston,  Gen.  R.  D.  wounded, 
388 

Jones,  Gen.,  quoted,  186 

Jones,  Lieut.,  commands  the 
Merrimac,  130 


Jones,  Col.  Edward  F.,  takes  his 

regiment  to  Washington,  52 
Jones,  Gen.  J.  M.,  wounded,  267 
Jones,  John  B.,  quoted,  477 
Jordan,  Col.,  defeated,  319 
Justification,  the  question  of,    33 

Kansas,  the  struggle  over,  22,  23 

Kearny,  Gen.  Philip,  in  Penin 
sula  campaign,  154,  et  seq.;  at 
the  second  Bull  Run,  180; 
killed,  183 

Kearsarge,  fight  with  the  Ala 
bama,  401 

Keenan,  Major  Peter,  his  charge 
at  Chancellorsville,  245 

Keifer,  Col.  Joseph  W.,  wound 
ed,  375 

fCellogg,  R.  H.,  quoted,  344,479 

Kemper,  Gen.  James  L.,  wound 
ed,  267 

Kenesavv,  fighting  at,  425-428 

Kennedy,  John  A.,  in  the  New 
York  riots,  300 

Kentucky,  the  struggle  for,  78,  et 
seq.;  Bragg's  attempt  to  force 
her  into  the  Confederacy,  230 

Keokuk,  monitor,  destroyed,  311 

Kern,  Capt.,  commanding  bat 
tery,  1 68 

Keyes,  Gen.  Erastus  D.,  at  Bull 
Run,  60 ;  in  Peninsula  cam 
paign,  150 

Kilpatrick,  Gen.  Judson,  at 
Gettysburg,  267  ;  rides  around 
Atlanta,  436 ;  in  the  march  to 
the  sea,  494  ;  at  Averysboro,  509 

King,  Gen,,  at  Groveton,  179 

Kirkland,  Gen.,  wounded,  396 

Kline,  sergeant,  387 

Knowles,  quartermaster,  on  the 
Hartford,  442 

Know-Nothing  party,  the,  21 

Knoxville  besieged,  331,  333 

Lane,  Gen.,  wounded,  396 
Law,  Gen.,  wounded,  396 
Lawler,    Gen.    Michael    K.,     in 

Vicksburg  campaign,  285 
Lawson,  Surgeon-General,  death 

of,  353 

Lawton,  Gen.  A.  R.,  at  the  An 
tietam,  118 


544 


INDEX. 


Lebanon  captured,  321 

Ledlie,  Gen.  James  H.,  at  mine 
explosion,  448 

Lee,  Gen.  Robert  E.,  goes  with 
his  State,  46 ;  commands  in 
Western  Virginia,  84;  given 
command  of  the  Confederate 
forces  in  Virginia,  158;  en 
deavors  to  get  McClellan  away 
from  Richmond,  175 ;  cam 
paign  against  Pope,  17 '5,  et  seq .; 
marches  into  Maryland,  185 ; 
at  South  Mountain  and  the 
Antietam,  190-199;  position  of 
his  army  after  Antietam,  218- 
222  ;  at  Fredericksburg,  223 - 
228  ;  at  Chancellorsville,  243  ; 
in  Gettysburg  campaign, 2 50,  et 
seq.\  in  the  overland  cam* 
paign,  362,  et  seq.\  his  action 
in  regard  to  the  wounded  at 
Cold  Harbor,  396;  moves  to  Pe 
tersburg,  446;  evacuates  Peters 
burg,  515,  et  seq.\  surrenders, 
519;  Longstreet's  criticism, 
522 

Lefferts,  Col.  Marshall,  takes  his 
regiment  to  Washington,  53 

Legal-tender  notes,  485 

Letcher,  John,  Governor  of  Vir 
ginia,  his  professed  Unionism, 
43  ;  his  disloyalty,  46  ;  letter  to 
a  Unionist,  336  ;  cited,  337 

Lexington,  Mo.,  siege  of,  106 

Libby  prison,  342 

Liberator,  establishment  of,  6 

Liberty-laws,  4 

Lieutenant-General,     grade     of, 

.365 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  speech  on 
slavery,  15  ;  nominated  for 
President,  35  ;  inaugurated,  40  ; 
first  inaugural  address,  41 ; 
first  call  for  troops,  47  ;  his 
difficulties  with  Gen.  McClel 
lan,  149,  et  seq.\  reinstates  Gen. 
McClellan,  186;  his  hatred  of 
slavery,  201  ;  modifies  Gen. 
Fremont's  order,  209;  annuls 
Gen.  Hunter's,  210;  recom 
mends  payment  for  slaves,  212; 
correspondence  with  Horace 
Greeley,  213  ;  proclaims  eman 


cipation,  214;  his  letter  to 
Gen.  Hooker,  241  ;  his  criti 
cism  of  the  War  Department, 
458  ;  renominated  for  president, 
471  ;  re-elected,  479;  his  anec 
dote  of  swapping  horses,  476 ; 
his  speech  after  election,  480; 
in  the  Hampton  Roads  confer 
ence,  511;  assassinated,  526; 
his  second  inaugural  address 
quoted,  528  ;  his  visit  to  Rich 
mond,  529 

Logan,   Gen.   John    A.,  at    Bull 
Run,  62  ;    in  Vicksburg  cam 
paign,  285 ;    in    Atlanta  cam 
paign,  432 
Longfellow,    Henry   W.,  quoted, 

50,  207 

Longstreet,  Gen.  James,  at  Bull 
Run,  62;  before  Richmond, 
162,  et  seq.\  in  second  Bull 
Run  campaign,  177,  et  seq.\  in 
Fredericksburg  campaign,  222, 
et  seq.',  in  Gettysburg  cam 
paign,  257,  et  seq.;  quoted,  260; 
at  Chickamauga,  324,  et  seq.\  at 
Knoxville,  331  ;  in  the  overland 
campaign,  368,  et  seq.\  wound 
ed,  374 

Lookout  Mountain,  battle,  331 
Lost  despatch,  Lee's,  187 
Louis  Napoleon,  unfriendly  to  the 

United  States,  88 
Louisiana  secedes,  36 
Lovejoy,  Elijah  P.,  murdered,  6 
Lovell,   Gen.   Mansfield,  at  New 

Orleans,  124 

Lowell,  James  R.,  quoted,  206 
Lynchburg   Republican,   quoted, 

336 

Lyon,  Gen.  Nathaniel,  sent  to 
Missouri,  74 ;  placed  in  com 
mand,  75  ;  occupies  Jefferson 
City,  76  ;  fights  at  Booneville 
76;  defeats  McCulloch,  78; 
killed,  78 

McAllister,  Gen.,  wounded,  375 
McCall,  Gen.  George  A.,  in  Pen 
insula    campaign,    162 ;     cap 
tured,  168 

McCausland,  Gen.,  burns  Cham- 
bersburg,  454 


INDEX. 


'545 


McClellan,  Gen.  George  B.,  cam 
paign  in  Western  Virginia,  84; 
his  history,  146 ;  made  Gen 
eral-in-Chief,  148;  his  Penin 
sula  campaign,  149,  et  seq.\ 
takes  possession  at  Harrison's 
Landing,  174;  leaves  the  pen 
insula,  175  ;  reinstated  in  com 
mand,  1 86;  pursues  Lee  into 
Maryland,  187  ;  fights  the  bat 
tles  of  South  Mountain,  190; 
defeats  Lee  at  the  Antietam, 
192-199;  his  relations  to  slav 
ery,  203,  204  ;  movements  after 
Antietam,  218-221  ;  discussion 
with  the  President,  219,  220;  re 
lieved  of  command,  221  :  nomi 
nated  for  president,  473 

McClernand,  Gen.  John  A.,  sup 
ports  Lincoln's  administration, 
58  ;  at  Fort  Donelson,  104  ;  at 
Shiloh,  136,  et  seq.\  plans  open 
ing  the  Mississippi,  270;  in 
Vicksburg  campaign,  277,  et 
seq. 

McCulloch,  Gen.  Ben,  in  Missou 
ri,  77 ;  at  Pea  Ridge,  107 ; 
killed,  109 

McCook,  Gen.  Alexander  McD., 
at  Stone  River,  235  ;  at  Chick- 
amauga,  325,  et  seq.\  in  Stone- 
man's  raid,  436 

McCook,  Daniel,  Sr.,  killed,  322 

McCook,  Gen.  Daniel,  Jr.,  killed, 
428 

McDowell,  Gen.  Irvin,  in  com 
mand  at  Bull  Run,  59 ;  his 
memorandum  quoted,  149 ;  in 
Peninsula  campaign,  148,  et 
seq.\  in  the  second  Bull  Run 
campaign,  173,  179,  et  seq. 

McGowan,  Gen.,  wounded,  388 

Mclntosh,  Gen.  J.  M.,  killed,  109 

Mclntosh,  Gen.  John  B.,  captures 
a  regiment,  460 

McLavvs,  Gen.  Lafayette,  in 
Antietam  campaign,  i88,<?/  seq. 

McPherson,  Gen.  James  B.,  in 
Vicksburg  campaign,  278  ;  in 
Meridian  campaign,4i3;  in  At 
lanta  campaign,  419,  et  seq.\ 
his  mistake  at  Resaca,  421  ; 
killed,  433 


McPherson,  William,  service  in 
Missouri,  77 

Magoffin,  Beriah,  Governor  of 
Kentucky,  refuses  to  assist  the 
Government,  71  ;  attempts  to 
make  Kentucky  neutral,  78,  79 

Magruder,  Gen.  John  B.,  at 
Yorktown,  152;  at  Allen's 
Farm,  166 

Malvern  Hill,  battle  of,  169 

Manassas,  first  battle  of,  59  et 
seq.  ;  second,  180,  et  seq. 

Mansfield,  Gen.  J.  K.  F.,  at  the 
Antietam,  194;  killed,  195 

March  to  the  sea,  the,  488-499 ; 
first  proposed  by  Sherman,  492 

Marshall,  Gen.  Humphrey,  de 
feated  at  Paintville,  97 

Mason,  James  M.,  sent  by  the 
Confederate  Government  to 
London,  85 

Maryland,  the  struggle  for,  80,  et 
seq.\  invasion  of,  185,  et  seq.\ 
abolishes  slavery,  212,480 

Meade,  Gen.  Geo.  G.,  at  the  sec 
ond  Bull  Run,  182  ;  at  Freder- 
icksburg,  226,  et  seq.\  assumes 
command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  253 ;  at  Gettysburg, 
254,  et  seq.\  council  of  war,  263  ; 
in  the  overland  campaign,  367, 
et  seq. 

Meade,  Col.,  killed,  396 

Meredith,  Gen.  Solomon,  at  Get 
tysburg,  256 

Meridian  campaign,  the,  413,  414 

Merritt,  Gen.  Wesley,  at  the 
Opequan,  462 

Mexican  war,  the,  17 

Mexico,  French  forces  in,  89 

Middleburg,  cavalry  fight  at,  252 

Miles,  Gen.  Dixon  S.,  at  Bull 
Run,  60;  defeated  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  187  ;  killed,  189 

Miles,  Gen.  Nelson  A.,  at  Reams 
Station,  450 

Miller,  Col.  J.  F.,  wounded,  323 

Mill  Springs,  battle  of,  98 

Milroy,  Gen.  Robert  H.,  at  Win 
chester,  251 

Milton,  engagements  near,  320 

Mine,  at   Petersburg,  447,  et  seq. 

Mine  Run,  367 


546 


INDEX. 


Mission  Ridge,  battle  of,  333 

Mississippi  secedes,  36 

Missouri, the  struggle  for,72,  et seq. 

Missouri  Compromise,  the,  16; 
repealed,  22 

Mitchel,  Gen.  O.  M.,  occupies 
Bowling  Green,  102 

Mobile  Bay,  battle  of,  438-442 

Monitor  and  Merrimac,  battle  of, 
127,  et  seq. 

Monocacy,  battle  of  the,  452 

Montgomery,  Ala.,  made  capital 
of  Confederacy,  36 

Morgan,  Gov.  Edwin  D.,  521 

Morgan,  Gen.  Geo.  W.,  in  Vicks- 
burg  campaign,  276,  et  seq. 

Morgan,  Gen.  John  H.,  at  Mur- 
freesboro,  235 ;  defeated  by 
Hall,  320  ;  by  Stanley,  320  ;  his 
raid  across  the  Ohio,  321 

Morton,  Gov.  Oliver  P.,  521 

Morris,  Col.,  killed,  396 

Morris,  Lieut.,  commanding  the 
Cumberland,  128 

Morse,  S.  F.  B.,  on  slavery  and 
Catholicism,  11 

Mortar-boats,  used  at  New  Or 
leans,  113 

Mott,  Gen.  Gershom,  at  Spottsyl- 
vania,  381 

Mott,  Valentine,  chairman  of 
commission  of  inquiry,  349 

Mulligan,  Col.  James  A.,  at  Lex 
ington,  106 

Mumsfordsville,  action  at,  230 

Munitions  supplied  by  England 
to  the  Confederates,  91 

Murfreesboro  (or  Stone  River), 
battle  of,  235 

Nashville,  battle  of,  501 
Navy,  the,  condition  at  the  open 
ing  of  the  war,  90 
Nelson,  Gen.  Wm.,  at  Shiloh,  137 
Nelson's  Farm,  battle  of,  168 
New  Hope  Church,  engagement 

at,  424 
New  Madrid,  military  movements 

around,  132,  133 
New  Market,  battle  of,  168 
Newnan,  engagement  at,  436 
New  Orleans,  capture  of,  in,  et 
seq. 


Nichols,  Major  George  Ward, 
quoted,  497 

Norfolk,  Va.,  captured,  131 

North  Anna,  manoeuvres  on  the, 
390 

North  Carolina,  secession  of,  46, 
82  ;  proposing  to  secede  from 
the  Confederacy,  338 ;  move 
ment  for  peace,  489 

Northrop,  Gen.  Lucius  B.,  action 
as  commissary-general,  342 

Northwest  Territory,  ordinance 
concerning,  16 

Nullification,  17 

O'Brien,  Col.  Henry  J.,  killed,  304 
Olmsted,   Frederick   Law,  secre 
tary  of  Sanitary   Commission, 

354 

On  to  Richmond,  popular  catch 
word,  58 

Opequan  Creek,  engagements  at, 
459,  461 

Ord,  Gen.  E.  O.  C.,  in  Vicksburg 
campaign,  287  ;  before  Peters 
burg,  513 

Oregon  boundary,  17 

O'Rorke,  Col.  P.  H.,  killed,  261 

Ould,  Col.  Robert,  action  in  re 
gard  to  prisoners,  347 

Overland  campaign,  the,  362-399 

Owen,  Robert  Dale,  quoted,  215 

Paine,  Col.  Halbert  E.,  refuses  to 

return  slaves,  2 1 1 
Paintville,  battle  of,  97 
Parke,  Gen.  John  G.,  commands 

the   Ninth  Corps,  449;  before 

Petersburg,  513 
Paroles,  violation  of,  347 
Partisan  rangers  authorized,  337 
Paterson,    Joseph,    treasurer     of 

Christian  Commission,  360 
Paul,  Gen.  Gabriel  R.,  wounded, 

267 

Pea  Ridge,  battle  of,  108 
Peace  convention,  203 
Peace,  efforts  for,  468,  489,  510 
Peachtree  Creek,  action  at,  431 
Perkins,   Lieut.    George     H.,    at 

New      Orleans,      123;       letter 

quoted,  124 
Pegram,  Gen.  John,  wounded,  375 


INDEX. 


547 


Pemberton,  Gen.  John  C,  super 
sedes  Van  Dorn,  234;  in  Vicks- 
burg  campaign,  272-289 

Fender,  Gen.  Wm.  D.,  killed,  267 

Pendleton,  George  H.,  nominated 
for  vice-president,  474 

Perrin,  Gen.  A.  M.,  killed,  388 

Perryville,  battle  of,  231 

Persecution    of    Unionists,    335, 

336,  339 

Petersburg,  siege  of,  451,  512-515 

Philippi,  action  at,  84 

Pierce,  Franklin,  his  letter  en 
couraging  secession,  27  ;  comes 
out  for  the  Union,  51  ;  his 
oration  at  Concord,  295 

Pierpont,  Francis  H.,  made  Gov 
ernor  of  West  Virginia,  85 

Pickett,  Gen.  George  E.,  at  Get 
tysburg,  265 

Pike,  Gen.  Albert,  recruits  In 
dians,  108 

Pillow,  Gen.  Gideon  J.,  in  Mis 
souri,  77  ;  at  Fort  Donelson, 
105 

Pittsburgh  Landing,  136 

Pleasant  Hill,  battle  of,  417 

Pleasonton,  Gen.  Alfred,  at  Chan- 
cellorsville,  244 ;  at  Brandy  Sta 
tion,  250;  at  Gettysburg,  254, 
et  seq. 

Plummer,  Gen.  J.  B.,  at  Island 
No.  10,  133 

Polk,  James  K.,  elected  President, 
17  ;  violates  his  pledges,  18 

Polk,  Gen.  Leonidas,  at  New 
Madrid,  132;  at  Murfreesboro, 
235  ;  at  Chickamauga,  325,  et 
seq.\  evacuates  Meridian,  414  ; 
killed,  426 

Pollard,  E.  A.,  quoted,  237,  337 

Pope,  Gen.  John,  in  Missouri, 
107;  at  Island  No.  10,  133; 
his  campaign  in  Virginia,  173, 
et  seq. ;  his  papers  captured 
and  plans  revealed,  178 

Popular  sovereignty,  22 

Port  Hudson,  surrender  of,  288 

Port  Royal  expedition,  the,  94 

Porter,  Gen.  Andrew,  at  Bull 
Run,  65 

Porter,  Admiral  David  D.,  at  cap 
ture  of  New  Orleans,  113,  et 


seq.\  before  Vicksburg,    272,  et 
seq.\  in   Shrevcport  expedition, 

415 

Porter,  Gen.  Fitz  John,  in  Penin 
sula  campaign,  162,  et  seq.;  in 
the  second  Bull  Run  campaign, 
i So,  et  seq.\  court-martialed, 
183  ;  Grant's  judgment  on,  184 

Porter,  Col.  Peter  A.,  killed,  396 

Porter,  Capt.  Wm.  D.,  at  Fort 
Henry,  101 

Porterfield,  Col.,  commands  in 
western  Virginia,  84 

Prentiss,  Gen.  B.  M.,  at  Shiloh, 
1 36,  et  seq. 

Price,  Gen.  Sterling,  traps  Gen. 
Harney,  75  ;  at  Lexington,  107; 
at  Pea  Ridge,  107  ;  at  luka  and 
Corinth,  233 

Prisoners  placed  under  fire,  317  ; 
cruelty  to,  342-346 

Privateering,  409,  et  seq. 

Privateers,  Confederate,  91 

Property  in  the  United  States, 
value  of,  487 

Putnam,  Col.,  killed,  314 

Quaker  guns,  153 
Quinby,  Gen.  Isaac  F.,  in  Vicks 
burg  campaign,  280,  et  seq. 

Rabadon.  sergeant,  killed,  387 

Railroad,  military,  451 

Ramseur,  Gen.  Stephen  D., 
wounded,  388 

Randol,  Capt.,  commanding  bat 
tery,  167 

Randolph,  John,  on  slavery,  II 

Raymond,  battle  of,  283 

Raymond,  Henry  J.,  in  Republi 
can  convention,  470 

Reagan,  John  H.,  captured,  523 

Reams    Station,  action  at,   450 

Redfield,  Col.,  killed,  491 

Reno,  Gen.  Jesse  L.,  at  the  sec 
ond  Bull  Run,  183  ;  killed,  190 

Republican  party,  organized,  22 

Resaca,  operations  at,  422 

Review,  grand,  530 

Reynolds,  Gen.  John  F.,  at  the 
second  Bull  Run,  182  ;  at  Get 
tysburg,  254 ;  killed,  256 


548 


INDEX. 


Reynolds,    Gen.    Joseph    J.,    at 

Chickamauga,  327 
Rice,  Gen.  J.  C.,  killed,  388 
Rich  Mountain,  action  at,  84 
Richmond,  Ky.,  action  at,  230 
Richmond,  Va.,  made  the  seat  of 
the    Confederate   Government, 
58  ;  evacuated  by  the  Confed 
erates,  515 

Ricketts,  Gen.  James  B.,  at  Bull 
Run,  66  ;  at  the  second  Bull 
Run,  179;  at  Gettysburg,  263  ; 
at  the  Monocacy,  452 
Riots,  in  Baltimore,  52  ;  in  New 
York,  290-306  ;  in  Concord,  N. 

H.,  339 

Ripley,  Gen.  Roswell  S.,  at  Hil 
ton  Head,  95 

Robinson,  Gen.,  at  Gettysburg, 
258 

Rock  of  Chickamauga,  the,  328 

Rocles,  Gen.  Robert  E.,  at  the 
Opequan,  461  ;  killed,  462 

Rodgers,  Capt.  John,  captures 
the  Atlanta,  311 

Rosecrans,  Gen.  William  S., 
takes  command  in  Kentucky, 
233  ;  at  luka  and  Corinth,  233; 
at  Stone  River,  235  ;  his  inac 
tion  at  Murfreesboro,  318; 
drives  Bragg  from  Tullahoma 
to  Chattanooga,  322  ;  at  Chick 
amauga,  324;  superseded,  330 

Rosser,  Gen.  Thomas  L.,  defeated 
by  Sheridan,  373 ;  at  Tom's 
Brook,  465 

Rousseau,  Gen.  Lovell  H.,  opposes 
secession,  79 

Ruggles,  Gen.  Daniel,  men 
tioned,  141 

Runyon,  Gen.  Alexander  N.,  at 
Bull  Run,  60 

Russell,  Gen.  David  A.,  killed, 
462 

Russell,  Earl,  Seward's  reply  to, 
404,  et  seq. 

Russia,  relations  with  the  United 
States,  89 

Sabine  Cross-Roads,  battle  of, 
416 

Sacred  soil,  origin  of  the  expres 
sion,  55 


Sailor's  Creek,  engagement  at, 
518 

Sanitary  Commission,  351-358 

Satraps,  talked  of,  292 

Savage's  Station,  action  at,  166 

Savannah,  captured,  499 

Scales,  Gen.  Alfred  M.,  wounded, 
267 

Schenck,  sergeant,  killed,  387 

Schimmelpfennig,  Gen.  Alexan 
der,  occupies  Charleston,  508 

Schoepff,  Gen.  Albin,  at  Mill 
Springs,  98 

Schofield,  Gen.  John  M.,  service 
in  Missouri,  77  ;  in  Atlanta  cam 
paign,  419,  etseq.\  with  Thomas 
at  Nashville,  492  ;  fights  Hood 
at  Franklin,  500;  joins  Sher 
man,  510 

Scott,  Gen.  Winfield,  prepares 
defence  of  Washington,  55  :  re 
tires,  148 

Secession,  contemplated  and 
threatened,  23  ;  reliance  of  the 
secessionists,  27  ;  fallacy  of 
their  doctrine,  29 ;  opposed  to 
natural  laws,  32 ;  begun  by 
South  Carolina,  35  ;  ordinances 
passed  by  other  States,  36; 
secession  from  secession,  338 

Sedgwick,  Gen.  John,  at  the 
Antietam,  195;  at  Chancellors- 
ville,  243  ;  at  Gettysburg,  259; 
in  overland  campaign,  367 ; 
killed,  380 

Semmes,  Gen.  killed,  267 

Semmes,  Capt.  Raphael,  his 
cruises,  400—403 

Seven  Pines,  battle  of,  156 

Seward,  William  H.,  his  Higher 
Law  and  Irrepressible  Conflict 
speeches,  1 5  ;  Secretary  of 
State,  86  ;  action  in  the  Trent 
affair,  86  ;  the  story  of  his  little 
bell,  292  ;  his  discussion  of  the 
Confederate  cruisers,  404,^^^.; 
in  the  Hampton  Roads  con 
ference,  511  ;  attacked  by  an 
assassin,  526 

Seymour,  Horatio,  speech  against 
the  war,  28  ;  elected  Governor 
of  New  York,  295 ;  his  oration 
in  New  York,  295,  296  ;  pre- 


INDEX. 


549 


sides  over  the  Democratic  con 
vention,  473 

Seymour,  Gen.  Truman,  at  the 
second  Bull  Run,  182  ;  captured, 
375  ;  proposed  for  president, 

474 

Shadrach,  slave,  rescued.  19 
Shaler,  Gen.  Alex.,  captured,  375 
Sharpsburg    (or    the    Antieiamj, 

battle  of,  192,  et  seq. 
Shaw,  Col.  Robert  G.,  killed,  314 
Shenandoah  valley,  the  strategic 
peculiarities  of,  161  ;  Sheridan's 
campaign  in,  455—467 
Sheridan,  Gen.  P.  H.,  at  Perry- 
ville,  232  ;  at  Stone  River,  235  ; 
at  Chickamauga,  329;  in  the 
overland  campaign,  367,  et  seq.\ 
his  raid  toward  Richmond,  379; 
his  campaign  in  the  Shenan 
doah  valley,  455—467;  his  ca 
reer,  456  ;  moves  up  the  Shenan 
doah,  511  ;  rejoins  Grant,  512; 
at  Five  Forks,  54  ;  at  Appomat- 
tox,  518 

Sherman,  Gen.  William  T.,  at 
Bull  Run,  60  ;  first  under  fire, 
75;  at  Shiloh,  136,  et  seq.\  in 
Vicksburg  campaign, 2j2,etseg.\ 
at  Chattanooga,  330,  et  seq,  his 
advice  to  Grant,  365  ;  his  Me 
ridian  campaign,  413— 415  ;  his 
Atlanta  campaign,4i 8-437;  pur 
sues  Hood,  491  ;  his  march  to 
the  sea,  488—499 ;  his  instruc 
tions  for  the  march,  494 ;  his 
march  through  the  Carolinas, 
504,  et  seq.\  receives  Johnston's 
surrender,  520 

Sherman,  Gen.  Thomas  W.,  94 
Shields,      Gen.     James,     defeats 

Jackson,  152 

Shiloh  campaign,  132,  et  seq. 
Shreveport  expedition,  415-418 
Sickles,  Gen.  Daniel  E.,  at  Chan- 
cellorsville,  244  ;  at  Gettysburg, 
259,  et  seq. 

Sigel,  Gen.  Franz,  at  battle  of 
Carthage,  77  ;  at  Pea  Ridge, 
108 ;  commands  a  corps  in 
Virginia,  173 

Slack,  Gen.,  wounded,  109 
Slavery, — first  cargo  of  slaves,  i  ; 


profits  of  the  trade,  2  ;  forced 
upon  the  colonies,  2  ;  oppo 
sition  to  the  trade,  3 ;  the 
word  "  slave  "  excluded  from 
the  Constitution,  3  ;  fugitive 
slave  laws,  4  and  18  ;  slave 
insurrections,  45 ;  the  oppo 
sition  to  slavery,  6,  et  seq.\ 
barbarism  of,  7  ;  special  slave 
laws,  8 ;  Helper's  economic 
condemnation  of,  9 ;  defence 
of,  10;  excluded  from  the 
Northwest  Territory,  16  ;  re 
turn  of  fugitives,  19;  Dred 
Scott  decision,  19;  general  dis 
cussion,  6-21  ;  Confederate 
Constitution  on,  44  ;  domestic 
slave-trade,  44,  et  seq.\  gradual 
abolition  recommended,  209; 
abolished  by  Maryland,  480 ; 
(see  Emancipation,  200,  et  seg.) 
Slaves,  confiscation  of,  208 
Slave-trade,  possibility  of  its 

revival,  37 

Slidell,  John,  sent  by  the  Confed 
erate  Government  to  Paris, 

85 

Slocum,  Gen.  Henry  W,,  in 
Gettysburg  campaign,  252  ; 
given  command  of  the 
Twentieth  Corps,  434;  in  the 
march  to  the  sea,  494,  et  seq.; 
at  Averysboro,  510 

Smith,  Gen.  A.  J.,  in  Shreveport 
expedition,  415 

Smith,  Gen.  C.  F.,  at  Fort  Henry, 
101  ;  at  Fort  Donelson,  104 

Smith,  Gen.  E.  Kirby,  surrenders, 
520 

Smith,  Gerrit,  signs  Mr.  Davis's 
bail-bond,  523 

Smith,  Goldwin,  friendly  to  the 
United  States,  88 

Smith,  Gen.  G.  W.,  in  command 
before  Richmond,  158 

Smith,  Gen.  Morgan  L.,  in  At 
lanta  campaign,  433 

Smith,  Gen.  William  F.,  in  Pe 
ninsula  campaign,  153,^/5^;  at 
Cold  Harbor,  393  ;  advances  on 
Petersburg,  444 

Smith,  Gen.  W.  Sooy,  defeated 
by  Forrest,  415 


550 


INDEX. 


Smylie,     James,     his    theory    of 

slavery,   10 
Snow      Hill,      engagement      at, 

320 

Soldiers,  cost  of  maintaining,  484 
Songs,  martial  and  political,  476 
Soule,  Pierre,    at    New  Orleans, 

124 

South       Carolina,       nullification 
attempted  by,  17;  secedes,  35 
Southampton  insurrection,  the,  5 
South  Mountain,  battle  of,  190 
Specie  payments,  suspension  of, 

484 

Spottsylvania,  battle  of,  377-388 
Squatter  sovereignty,  22 
Stanton,  Edwin  M.,  made  Secre 
tary  of  War,  1 50 

Stanley,  Gen.  David  S.,  defeats 
Morgan,  320 ;  in  Atlanta  cam 
paign,  427  ;  with  Thomas  at 
Nashville,  492 

Stannard,  Gen.  George  J.,  wound 
ed,  267 

Star  of  the  West,  fired  upon,  40 
State  sovereignty,  34 ;  a  clause  of 
the  Constitution  that  precludes 
it,  37 
Steadman,   Capt.,  at  Port  Royal, 

96 

Steele,  Gen.  Frederic,  in  Vicks- 
burg   campaign,    275,  et  seq.  ; 
defeated  in  Arkansas,  418 
Steinwehr,    Gen.  Adolph  W.  F., 

at  Gettysburg,  259 
Stephens,      Alexander      H.,     on 
slavery,    20 ;     speech     against 
secession,    31 ;     chosen    Vice- 
President  of  the   Confederacy, 
36 ;  expounds   its  constitution, 
37 ;    in   the    Hampton    Roads 
conference,  510 
Steuart,  Gen.,  captured,  383 
Stevens,  Capt.,  at  Gettysburg,  263 
Stevens,  Gen.  Isaac  I.,  killed,  183 
Stevens,      Thaddeus,      proposes 

legal-tender  notes,  485 
Stevenson,  Gen.  T.  G.,  killed,  388 
Stiles,  Joseph  C.,  on  slavery,  n 
Stone,  Gen.  Roy,  at  Gettysburg, 

257 

Stoneman,  Gen.  George,  his  cav 
alry  raid,  435 


Stone  River,  battle  of,  235 

Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher,  her  anti- 
slavery  novel.  7 

Streight,  Col.  A.  D.,  his  raid,  320 

Stringfellow,  Thornton,  his  pam 
phlet  on  slavery,  10 

Stringham,  Flag-officer  Silas  H., 
in  Hatteras  expedition,  92 

Strong,  Gen.  Geo.   C.,  killed,  314 

Strong,  George  T.,  treasurer  of 
Sanitary  Commission,  354 

Stroud,  George  M.,  his  compila- 
lation  of  the  slave  laws,  8,  et  seq. 

Stuart,  George  H.,  president  of 
Christian  Commission,  360 

Stuart,  Gen.  J.  E.  B.,  rides  around 
McClellan's  army,  160;  cap 
tures  Pope's  headquarters, 
177;  at  Chancellorsville,  246; 
at  Brandy  Station,  250;  at 
Gettysburg,  267  ;  in  the  over 
land  campaign,  368,  et  seq. ; 
killed,  379 

Sturgis,  Major  S.  D.,  at  Wilson's 
Creek,  78 

Sumner,  Charles,  assaulted,  15; 
advocates  claim  for  conse 
quential  damages,  412 

Sumner,  Gen.  Edwin  V.,  in  Penin 
sula  campaign,  150,  et  seq.  ;  at 
the  second  Bull  Run,  182;  in 
the  Fredericksburg  campaign, 
223,  et  seq. 

Sumter,  the,  her  career,  403 

Swamp  Angel,  the,  316 

Sykes,  Gen.  Geo.,  at  Gettysburg, 
259 

Taney,  Roger  B.,  his  Dred  Scott 
decision,  20;  opposes  President 
Lincoln's  suspension  of  habeas 
corpus,  8 1 ;  death  of,  212 

Tariff,  dissatisfaction  with,  17 

Taxes,  increase  of,  482 

Taylor,  Gen.  Richard,  at  Sabine 
Cross-roads,  416 

Tennessee,  the  struggle  for,  82,  et 
seq. ;  terrorism  in,  336 

Tennessee,  iron-clad  ram,  cap 
tured,  441 

Terrill,  Gen.  Wm.  R.,  killed,  232 

Terry,  Gen.  Alfred  H.,  captures 
Fort  Fisher,  508 


INDEX. 


551 


Texas,  annexation  of,  17  ;  secedes, 
36;  terrorism  in,  334,  335 

Thomas,  Gen.  George  H.,  at  Mill 
Springs,  98;  at  Stone  River, 
235  ;  at  Chickamauga,  325,  et 
seq.  ;  takes  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland,  330; 
in  Atlanta  campaign,  419,  et 
seq. ;  organizes  an  army  at 
Nashville,  492  ;  defeats  Hood, 
501 

Tourtellotte,  Lieut.-Col.  John  E., 
at  Allatoona,  490 

Thompson,  Geoige,  mobbed,  7 

Thompson,  Jacob,  plots  secession 
while  in  the  Cabinet,  38 

Three-hundred-dollar  exemption 
clause,  the,  297 

Tigers,  Louisiana,  destroyed,  263 

Tilghman,  Gen.  Lloyd,  at  Fort 
Henry,  101  ;  killed,  285 

Times,  London,  correspondent 
of,  quoted,  69 

Todd's  Tavern,  action  at,  376 

Tom's  Brook,  engagement  at,  465 

Toombs,  Robert,  urges  Georgia 
to  secede,  31 

Torbert,  Gen.  A.  T.  A.,  at  the 
Opequan,  462 ;  at  Staunton, 
465  ;  at  Tom's  Brook,  465 

Totopotomoy,  position  on,  393 

Trent  affair,  the,  85 

Tribune  office  assaulted,  303 

Turner,  Nat,  leads  an  insurrec 
tion,  5 

Turner's  Gap,  190 

Turning-point  of  the  war,  opinions 
as  to,  522 

Twiggs,  Gen.  David  E.,  his  sur 
render,  47 

Tyler,  Gen.  R.  O.,  at  Bull  Run, 
60;  at  Spottsylvania,  389; 
wounded,  376 ;  at  the  Mono- 
cacy,  453 


Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  published,  7 
"  Unconditional     surrender "     at 

Fort  Donelson,  105 
Underground  railroad,  the,  13 
Upperville,  cavalry  fight  at,  252 
Upton,  Gen.  Emory,  at  Spottsyl 
vania,  381 


Vallandigham,  Clement  L.,  his 
opposition  to  the  Government, 
293 ;  his  arrest  and  banish 
ment,  294  ;  defeated  by  Brough, 
306  ;  in  the  Democratic  conven 
tion,  473  ;  his  assurances  to  the 
South,  477 

Van  Buren,  Dr.,  connection  with 
the  Sanitary  Commission,  352 

Vance,  Gov.  Z.  B.,  quoted,  490 

Vanderbilt,  Cornelius,  signs  bail- 
bond,  523 

Van  Dorn,  Gen.  Earl,  at  Pea 
Ridge,  107;  at  Corinth,  233; 
at  Holly  Springs,  273  ;  defeats 
Col.  Coburn,  319;  defeated  by 
Gen.  Granger,  319 

Van  Gilder,  sergeant,  wounded, 
^87 

Vesey,  Denmark,  plans  an  insur 
rection,  4 

Vicksburg  campaign,  the,  270,  et 
seq.\  the  city  besieged,  286; 
captured,  288 

Vigintal  crop,  the,  44 

Vincent,  Gen.  Strong,  killed,  261 

Virginia,  the  struggle  for,  43 ; 
secession  of,  45 


Wade,  Jenny,  at  Gettysburg,  269 

Wadsworth.  Gen.  James  S., 
killed,  373 

Wagner,  Gen.  George  D.,  at 
Franklin,  500 

Walker,  Com.  Henry,  at  Island 
No.  10,  135 

Walker,  Gen.,  at  Harper's  Ferry; 
1 88;  wounded,  388 

Wallace,Gen.  Lew,  at  Fort  Donel 
son,  104  ;  at  Shiloh,  136,  et  seq. ; 
at  the  Monocacy,  452 

Wallace,  Gen.  W.  H.  L.,  at 
Shiloh,  136;  killed,  139 

Wauhatchie,  engagement  at,  330 

War  Democrats,  51 

Warner,  Capt.,  in  charge  of 
prisoners,  342 

Warren,  Gen.  Gouverneur  K.,  at 
the  second  Bull  Run,  182  ;  at 
Gettysburg,  261  ;  wounded, 
266 ;  overland  campaign,  367,  et 
seq. ;  seizes  the  Weldon  Rail- 


552 


INDEX. 


road,  450 ;  relieved  by  Sheridan, 

5H 

Washington  threatened  byEarly's 
raid,  453 

Waterloo  compared  with  Gettys 
burg,  268 

Waynesboro,  engagements  at, 
465,  511 

Webb,  Gen.  Alexander  S., quoted, 
157,  171  ;  at  Gettysburg,  266; 
wounded,  388 

Webster,  Col.  J.  D.,  at  Shiloh,  139 

Weed,  Gen.  Stephen  H.,  killed, 
261 

Weitzel,  Gen.  Godfrey,  marches 
into  Richmond,  516 

Weldon  Railroad,  fight  for  the, 
446 ;  seized  by  Warren,  450 

\Vest  Virginia,  formation  of,  83, 
et  scq. 

Wheeler,  Gen.  Joseph  G.,  attacks 
Dover,  319;  commanding  Con 
federate  cavalry,  433;  en 
counters  with  Kilpatrick,  498 

Wheeler,  John  H.,  mentioned,  19 

Whig  party,  goes  to  pieces,  21 

White,  Gen.,  evacuates  Martins- 
burg,  1 88 

Whitefielcl,  George,  working 
slaves,  2 

White  House,  destruction  of 
stores  at,  166 

Whiting,  Gen.,  quoted,  164 

Whitney,  Eli,  invents  the  cotton- 
gin*  3 

Whittier,  John  G.,  mobbed,  7 

Wiedrick,  Capt.,  at  Gettysburg, 
263 

Wilderness,  the,  description  of, 
366;  battle  of,  371,  et  seg. 

Wilkes,  Charles,  captures  Mason 
and  Slidell,  85 

William  of  Orange  fosters  the 
slave-trade,  2 

Williams,  Gen.  Thomas,  expels 
fugitive  slaves  from  his  lines, 
21 1  ;  defends  Baton  Rouge, 
271 ;  killed,  272 


Williamsburg,  battle  of,  153 
Williamson,     Passmore,    impris 
oned,  19 

Wilson,  Gen.  James  H.,  in  the 
overland  campaign,  391  ;  at 
crossing  of  the  James,  398  ;  at 
the  Opequan,  461  ;  at  Nash 
ville,  501 

Wilson's  Creek,  battle  of,  78 
Winchester,  battles  at,  251,454, 
461  ;  Sheridan  and  Early  ma 
noeuvre  around,  458,  et  seg. 
Winder,  Gen.  John  H.,  cruelty  to 
prisoners,  343,  344 ;   his  order 
to  fire  on  prisoners,  436  ;  death, 

525 

Winslow,  Capt.  John  A.,  com 
mands  the  Kearsarge,  401 

Winthrop,  Major  Theodore, 
killed,  56 

Women  in  hospital  service,  361 

Wood,  Surgeon-General,  connec 
tion  with  the  Sanitary  Commis 
sion,  353 

Wood,  General  Thomas  J.,  at 
Chickamauga,  327  ;  at  Mission 
Ridge,  333  ;  m  Atlanta  cam 
paign,  427 

Woods,  Gen.  Charles  R.,  in  the 
Atlanta  campaign,  432 

Worden,  Capt.  John  L.,  com 
mands  the  Monitor,  130 

Wright,  Gen.  Horatio  G.,  takes 
command  of  Sixth  Corps,  380; 
wounded,  388  ;  at  Cedar  Creek, 
466;  before  Petersburg,  515 


Yellow   Tavern,   engagement  at, 

376 
Yorktown,  siege  of,  152 


Zollicoffer,  Gen.  Felix  K.,  defeated 

at  Camp  Wildcat,  97  ;  killed,  98 

Zook,  Gen.  Samuel  K.,  killed,  262 

Zouaves,  first   drilled,    52;    New 

York  firemen  as,  55 


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